Back in the 70's as a teenager I did an RAE Course, it was in a town about 20 miles away & involved a one hour bus ride in each direction & a lot of waiting time on cold wet winter evenings for buses over two academic terms.
At that time the RAE was sat twice a year, Christmas & Easter, if I remember correctly. Mine was the only RAE course in our area & thus drew people in from a very wide area.
I planned to take my exam at Easter, but due to a vehicle breakdown I found myself on the wrong side of the country, so missed it & the Tec Collage then told me a lie & said I would have to sign up for, pay for AND attend their next course to be able to resit the exam.
I was just getting into Broadcasting & Echo Charlie so decided the cost & effort was not worth it.
What is required now to take a Foundation course is nothing by comparison to the old RAE. Yes they may both involve a similar trek to take the course, but not over months now, just a couple of evenings or a weekend & no commitment to then learn Morse with a very long trek to sit that exam to gain access to HF.
What is asked of new entrants today is almost nothing, but a desire & a few hours & the current system if used properly is as close to my Bricklaying apprenticeship as anything I have seen. Learn the basics, get some hands on experience & learn the practicalities, while you continue to learn & progress academically & practically in your desired hobby/profession.
I did a taster of my desired profession, the building trade at the local Tec Collage while I was in my last year at school. That is where I discovered amateur radio. It took more hours than the RAE, it was a year long course & gave me a good rounded idea & practical taste of what most professions in the building trade involved.
I do not see any logical reason for dumbing down amateur radio exams any further. It is already almost as easy as the Scouts Communicator badge, to make that entrance into the licensed side of the hobby & make that any easier & the licences will become worthless.