Sir JAMESYOXALLI beg to ask the President of the Board of Education if he will state, in respect of the years 1905 to 1911, both inclusive, the total number of inspectors, junior inspectors, and examiners appointed; how many in each grade were appointed by selection; how many because of success in examinations held by the Civil Service Commission; how many of those not previously sub-inspectors possess the Board's certificate or other recognised diploma in teaching; of those not previously sub-inspectors, the number engaged in inspecting public elementary schools, and in each case (indicated by reference to letters and not by name) the number of months' experience as adult teachers in such schools; the number of sub-inspectors who, having been certificated teachers in such schools, have been promoted to be junior inspectors or inspectors, or to be examiners; and, in the case of persons appointed to be examiners, and not possessing the certificate, diploma, or experience aforesaid, the particular experience or knowledge of education in schools connected with the Board of Education possessed in each case?
§ The PRESIDENT of the BOARD of EDUCATION (Mr. Runciman)I have already, in reply to numerous questions, given very full information as to the teaching experience of inspectors appointed during the years since the present Government took office. For the purpose of this question I propose to confine my reply to my own appointments. The term "Examiner" is applied to the junior grades of the Board's higher administrative staff. Teaching experience is not required as a qualification in their case, as their duties do not include examining or inspecting. They are required, as a rule, to have obtained high academic distinctions and are selected by virtue of these and of a variety of qualifications, administrative, legal, etc. It would not be practicable in any case to set out the qualifications of "Examiners" in any statistical form. Examiners, inspectors, and junior inspectors are appointed by the President. Their successes in examinations have not been in examinations held by the Civil Service 14 Commissioners. The Board's inspectorate has to be manned so as to provide for the inspection of secondary and technical and other kinds of schools, and for special subjects, such as physical exercises, and also must include men capable of setting and marking examination papers in all kinds of subjects and up to the highest grades of work. Inspectors are liable to be transferred from one branch to another as occasion may require. I have appointed sixty-four persons to be inspectors or junior inspectors, fifty of whom are at present engaged in the inspection of elementary schools. Eight of the fifty had been sub-inspectors. Forty-eight of them are known to have had practical experience in teaching; seventeen (including the eight who had formerly been sub-inspectors) had the certificate of the Board of Education, and thirteen others had diplomas for teaching. Thirty of the fifty are known to have had practical experience of teaching in elementary schools, fourteen of them for two or more years; seven others for one year and less than two years, and nine for periods of less than one year. Eighteen of these thirty had also had practical experience in teaching in other kinds of schools and colleges, some having been engaged on the staff of training colleges and pupil teacher centres, some having served their apprenticeship as pupil teachers, and some having also passed through a training college, although they had not subsequently taught in a public elementary school. As my hon. Friend asks for the exact number of months of adult experience in each case of teaching in elementary schools, I have had every case looked into, and so far as the Board's records show, the figures are as follows:—Six of three months, one of four months, one of six months, one of ten months, five of twelve months, one of eighteen months, one of twenty months, two of two years, one of two and a-half years, one of two and three-quarter years, one of three years, one of four and a-half years, one of seven years, one of nine and three-quarter years, one of eleven years, two of twelve years, one of seventeen years, one of twenty-four years, and one of uncertain period.