It said it was bringing in "strict new criteria" from 2014 for the practical courses included in the tables.

BBC: Many vocational courses axed from league tables

Current free weaning courses tend to merely involve the health visitor talking to parents, and practical courses are limited to expensive private courses run in big cities.

BBC: Parents 'need baby food cookery classes'

One of the practical changes has been the increasing prevalence of undergraduate courses in which students major in business throughout their course, rather than just for two years.

CNN: Starting out young

In contrast, Business Week said, the lower-ranked undergraduate courses tended to still follow the older methods of having less business theory and more practical application.

CNN: Starting out young

Progressive thinkers such as Piaget and Young have been squeezed out of the teacher-training curriculum, as first the Tories and now Labour have insisted that courses put more emphasis on practical teaching tips.

ECONOMIST: Plowden��s progress