SURELY THE ONUS IS ON THE EXAMINER NOT THE BRAND NEW AFIC OR FI(R) AS IT IS NOW.
How can that possible be?! The duty of the examiner is to examine, to decide if the candidate under test is able to perform to the required standard for the issue of the PPL(H).
It is the duty of the instructor to advise his/her student whether they have reached that standard after the MINIMUM 50 hours requirement or whether they require further training. After all, the instructor's job is not just to teach soemthing parrot fashion, but to evaluate the student's performance and make judgements as to what additional training is required. If the instructor can't do that, then how can the student know how he/she is progressing? The examiner only comes in to the picture after the instructor is satisfied that the student has reached the required standardv and is ready for the flight test.
I also agree with Tail Bloater that EOL's should be introduced as early as possible in the course. I would not allow a student to go solo unless I was confident of his/her ability to be able to get the aircraft to a point where the landing should be survivable (albeit with the aircraft written off) as that is my duty to my student.