At the end of the day, people have to learn the subject, not the answers. Something which some find rather taxing, it would seem....
I couldn't agree more. However there have been many pointless and unhelpful questions over the years that are simply irritating and unhelpful. e.g. "a part of an aeroplane detached in flight, fell to the ground and struck a member of the public". Is this an aircraft accident or an aircraft incident? I cannot remember a single candidate answering this question correctly and why should they. The correct answer should be: on landing I will contact someone and find out what form I fill in and have the aircraft inspected before the next flight.
My point is relevance. I would like to know what the suggested questions offered by the industry were (who are the industry anyway?) and why their offerings were rejected. What I can say is that 9 volumes of required study by a private pilot is nonsense and this should be obvious to everyone. The PPL exams should only be the need to know. I don't know why it takes so many people to create 120 questions plus alternates.
The online question and answer packages will soon be available. The pilot will simply tick the boxes and leave the room knowing little and for a short period of time. Sad but true. The training industry from my own observations has lost all confidence in the invigilating regime and also, it seems, so have the CAA invigilators (in kind).