Personally I think the night rating is one of the worst taught ratings in GA. Everything is different at night starting with flight planning, how to do the walk around, cockpit organization, taxing, correct light use on the ground, flight path management at night (especially for takeoff), terrain clearance and weather avoidance, reliance on instruments etc etc etc.
Very true, but most of this can be covered in the groundschool.
The course is 5 hours minimum, and most people are doing it on a budget so that's all they want, the minimum. Most will hardly use the rating, and only do it as the pre-entry requirement for CPL, in fact I've known students do the rating in early autumn, just after sunset where it's hardly dark at all and that doesn't really prove anything.
For a student to make the most of their night qualification, they would need something more, but the night qual on a basic PPL only permits night VFR, on the premise they remain in VMC, so it's still a restrictive rating in terms of the type of night/weather you are going to go up in.
The minimum syllabus only covers 5 hours, including 1 hour of nav, that is why I say it is only touched on, as circuits are the main focus and the only solo requirements is the 5 solo landings. Clearly the people who write the laws think that the landings are more important than the nav.