§ MR. SWIFT MACNEILLOn behalf of the hon. Member for East Mayo, I beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland why the Commissioners of National Education in Ireland have in their new regulations made a rule that no boy under eight years of age shall be enrolled in a male school; and whether any provision has been made for compensating teachers who will suffer under this rule.
§ MR. ATKINSONThe Commissioners have found that boys under eight years of age have received little or no instruction in schools where there were no mistresses, and especially in schools with only one master. The tender ages of these children necessitate instruction of a special character, and the Commissioners
† See page 562.589 are convinced that women are more fitted to impart this instruction than men. The rule has been made solely in the interests of the children, and the necessity for such a rule was strongly pointed out in Mr. Dale's Report on primary education. With respect to the concluding inquiry there is no evidence yet that teachers, generally, will be in any way sufferers under the rule.