rans don't start pulling apart situation that you weren't a part of and have no knowledge apart from what is typed.
I've been around flying training for a while and was part of an extremely professional team of FI's who all worked their backsides off to get this chap off solo.
He wasn't utterly useless all the time, he was an inconsistent pilot. One day good, the next day appalling. Luckily one of his good days coincided with good weather and we were able to get him off for a single solo cct.
There wasn't a chance in hell that he was ever going to be able to get a licence. The reasons are many and varied and as any idiot who's been an FI for more than 5 minutes knows, some people just aren't able to get there.
The vast majority can be brought up to a decent standard, but not everyone can and it isn't always a reflection on the FI if a student fails.
I've personally dealt with students who are illiterate, lazy, clever, thick as mince, driven, young, old and even some who are just normal people! There aren't many I've not managed to get through their test. In fact it's only this one chap so it's not exactly something that happens a lot.