What would work well in combination with this is the introduction of a NM training course. In the course, applicants would be guided through the material they need to learn in order to pass NM.
I think you are misunderstanding the NM process a bit. It's *not* a training course, it's a check to see if people are ready to get the privileges of a DD. Teaching stuff is a side-effect when doing the checks, and some parts of the NM templates are trying to help with that.
I hope this point is clear. Debian is not a training organization. We have made commitments to our users but the teaching we do is by example. The NM process is a product of the recent growth. There has always been an adequate supply of talented people willing to make Debian a better OS. These are usually the people you never see or hear from who quietly solve problems. The NM process is geared to the remaining applicants who have not yet attained that level of experience. The growth in applicants has caused problems because we now face a crop that has just enough knowledge to be dangerous. We still need fresh blood, but it is only reasonable to limit the potential damage. In an ideal meritocracy, age and experience do not prevent a person from contributing. The global nature of Debian has complicated communication issues because we accept volunteers from all these different backgrounds. I hope we can tactfully reject any applicant who obviously should not have applied in the first place. Richard