I'd rather spend a little more time making sure that the initial lessons are properly understood. While the time to solo might not be the shortest, it doesn't have to be super long either. I believe that the rest of the PPL course is so much easier if the basics are there. It can also be cheaper for the student. If they can't hold a decent straight and level for a navex, that gets expensive. Straight and level, turning to a heading, en-route checks, climbing and descending and crucially levelling out after a level change, if these basic skills are inbred from the start, the rest should be a doddle.
I took well over 10 hours to go solo, not sure exactly how much. I took something like 45.5 hours to get my PPL. But this has no meaning without the context. To be honest all this comparison of numbers means nothing, because there are so many factors that affect the time people take to achieve each milestone.
The fact is if you are learning to fly and enjoying it and achieving at least something each lesson, who cares how long it takes? Weather, age, finances, timing, the airfield environment, personal aptitude, all have a part to play in influencing progress. Surely the point is to learn, not to enter an hours based willy-waving contest.
Plus the hours taken are in no way a reflection upon the final outcome. There are some new PPLs who took twice as long as other new PPLs, and often they are way better pilots for the extra time they took.
Additionally, you should never stop learning. Just IMO.