§ MR. GATHORNE HARDYsaid, he wished to ask the Vice President of the Committee of Council for Education, Whether, when a Student having been admitted to a Training College without passing, or after failure at the examination for admission by the Inspector, succeeds in the examination of Students at the end of each of two successive years of training, completes the prescribed period of probation, and becomes a Certificated Teacher, he will be counted to the credit of the Training College in estimating the Grant earned by the Institution under the Minute of March 21, 1863?
§ MR. LOWEreplied, that the Training Colleges were founded for the purpose of educating young men and women for the office of teacher, and it was not the business of those establishments to give elementary instruction, it being supposed that the pupil had received good elementary education before he came to the College to add there what was necessary to make him an efficient teacher. A person coming into a Training College without having undergone a good previous education was a great inconvenience and annoyance to the working of the College, for he could not generally be classed with the other students, and naturally dragged down the teaching to his own level. To prevent such occurrences, the Committee of Council had instituted a sort of matriculation examination for each of those training Colleges; and it was only in favour of those students who passed that examination that the Grant would be counted.