§ MR. CALDWELL (Glasgow, St. Rollox)I beg to ask the Lord Advocate whether he is aware that teachers in every State-aided school in Scotland keep a roll made up daily, and summed up weekly, showing the total weekly average attendance, and the weekly average attendance of infants, and of children in each of the six standards, and in Ex. VI. in their school; and that the number of fee-paying schools in Scotland, in which fees may be charged under paragraph 7 of the Minute of the Scotch Education Department of August 26th, is only 44, and belong to a much lesser number of School Boards; whether there is any good reason why the teacher in each of these 44 fee-paying Schools should not be able to give by 885 return of post the particulars as to attendances in their schools, set forth in the Motion for a Return as to Fee-Paying Schools (Scotland), which appears on the Notice Paper of to-day; and whether the Government will consent to this Return?
§ THE LORD ADVOCATE (Mr. J. P. B. ROBERTSON, Buteshire)As I informed the hon. Member yesterday, certain items of information requested in the Return for which he proposes to move are not in possession of the Department, and the rules as to registration do not require that the Registers should be so kept as to enable School Managers to give the attendances according to standards, the children being classified in the Registers according to sex and age. Such information could not be given without very considerable trouble to the staff of the schools. But as we are anxious to give to the hon. Member all the information in our power, we shall without delay communicate with the authorities of the schools, with the view of ascertaining whether this information can be given; and, if so, we shall be prepared to give the Return in the form he desires.