§ Mr. MacVEAGHasked the President of the Board of Education whether he can state how many of the higher administrative appointments in the Department are held by persons appointed by patronage and how many, by promotion from amongst those who entered the public service by open competition; and whether steps will be taken to secure that the patronage system will be abolished or limited in his Department?
§ The PRESIDENT of the BOARD of EDUCATION (Mr. Runciman)With reference to the first part of the question, the whole of what is commonly known as the Higher Staff of the Board of Education is appointed by the President of the Board. With regard to the second part of the question, I am not prepared to suggest either the abolition or the limitation of the powers of appointment which are at present vested in the President. The qualifications required, both for the administrative and inspectorial branches of the Board, are various and, depending as they do largely upon practical experience and personal character, cannot be satisfactorily tested by examination. I may, perhaps, refer the hon. Member to an answer given on this point to the hon. Member for the North-East Division of Cork by the Financial Secretary to the Treasury on 11th June, 1909.