§ MR. M. HEALY (Cork)I beg to ask the Secretary to the Treasury whether Sir Patrick Kerran has frequently represented to the Treasury the injustice of the rule of the Irish Board of National Education, by which ordinary assistant teachers are paid the same, no matter to what class they belong, though assistant teachers in model schools and training schools are paid according to class; and whether the Treasury will enable the rule to be modified so as to treat ordinary assistant teachers on the same footing as those in model schools and training schools, and thus give them some incentive to rise to a higher class?
§ MR. JACKSONThere have been proposals from the Commissioners of National Education respecting the payments to be made to certain assistant teachers, but the proposals are not such as the hon. Member indicates. The consideration of the proposals of the Commissioners for improving the position of certain of the assistant teachers has been deferred till the Estimates for the next financial year are under consideration, but without prejudice to the merits of the case.
§ MR. M. HEALYI beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland whether it was the intention of the Board of Intermediate Education in Ireland, in framing their new rules, to restrict the benefits of intermediate education to students intended for Universities; and whether they intend to modify their rules, so as to meet the complaints which have been made, that their new curriculum, owing to its 1831 largely literary and classical character, tends to seriously injure commercial schools? I beg also to ask the right hon. Gentleman whether the attention of the Board of Intermediate Education in Ireland has been called to the general complaints which have been made as to the tendency of their new rules to restrict the benefits of intermediate education to students of the better class who obtain a classical education at Board schools to the prejudice of the poorer class of students who by the operation of the system as previously administered were enabled to obtain a good commercial education in the various day schools which sent forward pupils for examination; and whether they will re-consider their recent rules, so as to secure that the public moneys which they administer will benefit the poorer class of students who most need education assisted by the State?
§ MR. A. J. BALFOURThe Board do not feel at liberty to make any public announcement at present of their proposals.