HC Deb 24 July 1900 vol 86 cc1055-7
MR. ELLIS J. GRIFFITH (Anglesey)

I beg to ask the Vice President of the Committee of Council on Education whether his attention has been called to the fact that repeated demands have been made by the Education Department upon the managers of the Holyhead National School that they should sign the memorandum of agreement of Nellie Roberts, a pupil teacher at the infants' department of that school, but that, although she has been a recognised pupil teacher for over three years, these demands have not yet been complied with; and what reasons are assigned by the managers for their non-compliance.

SIR J. GORST

Notice of this question was only received this morning, and I have not yet been able to obtain the information.

MR. ELLIS J. GRIFFITH

I beg to ask the Vice-President of the Committee of Council on Education whether he is aware that, on the 11th of April last, the Rev. Canon Thomas, one of the managers of the Holyhead National School, called Nellie Roberts and another pupil teacher before him, in the presence of the head teachers, and after inquiring of each if they were willing to attend the services of the Church of England and to assist in the Sunday School, and being answered by the first negatively and by the second affirmatively, that he proceeded to sign the memorandum of agreement of the latter and informed Nellie Roberts that he would leave her agreement unsigned for a time, so as to give her an opportunity of deciding whether she would comply with his demands that she should renounce her Nonconformity; and will he cause inquiry to be made in this case.

SIR J. GORST

The Board of Education have no control over the conditions in respect of religion under which pupil teachers are engaged. But I will inquire into the allegations of the hon. Member.

MR. ELLIS J. GRIFFITH

I beg to-ask the Vice-President of the Committee of Council on Education, whether he is aware that the managers of the Holyhead National School habitually bring pressure to boar upon all their teachers to attend Church of England services and to be confirmed, and that out of nine Nonconformists employed at the school seven have been obliged to comply with these demands, although the parents are Nonconformists, and that this is the only school available for a Nonconformist district; and whether, seeing that repeated applications by the Holyhead School Board to be allowed to build a school have been refused, and that the National school is generally overcrowded, he will state what steps the Board of Education will take in this matter.

SIR J. GOEST

The Board of Education have no power to interfere in a matter of this kind. I will inquire into the matter referred to in the second paragraph.

MR. ELLIS J. GRIFFITH

I beg to ask the Vice President of the Committee of Council on Education whether his attention has been called to the fact that nearly all the pupil teachers in the Holy-head National School are paid one shilling per week less than the amount agreed upon by the managers and specified in their memoranda of agreement; and what measures the Board of Education intend taking to enforce the proper carrying out of Clauses 1 and 3 of the memorandum of agreement.

SIR J. GORST

No complaint of the non-fulfilment by the managers of the Holyhead National School of the conditions of their agreement with pupil teachers has, so far as I know, reached the Board of Education. If such complaint were made it would at once be inquired into.