HC Deb 21 February 1906 vol 152 c352
MR. JAMES O'CONNOR

I beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland whether, in view of the fact that Rule 127B of the National Board of Education in Ireland has been condemned by the managers of schools and by many public bodies in Ireland, he will request the Commissioners of National Education to withdraw the rule.

MR. BRYCE

This rule was passed with the object of providing that boys of tender years should be taught by female teachers. The rule as originally framed was, as the result of representations received from managers and others, modified to the extent of reducing the limit of age of the boys referred to from eight to seven years. I am not prepared to ask the Commissioners to withdraw the rule, which is in accord with the views, of the most experienced educational authorities both here and in the United States.