§ MR. FLYNNI beg to ask the Vice-President of the Committee of Council on Education whether he is aware that the Walsall School Board has within the past three months exempted over one hundred children from school attendance, some of whom failed to pass the fourth standard at the recent examination; will he state whether the Board are empowered to make such exemption, and does the Education Department propose to take any steps to prevent members of this school board from breaking its own bye-laws.
§ SIR J. GORSTThe answer to the first paragraph is in the negative. Under the Walsall bye-laws children are entitled to partial exemption after twelve, either on passing Standard IV. or on making three hundred attendances annually for five years.