§ 68. Sir P. MAGNUSasked the Minister of National Service if he is now able to state whether he is willing to accept the recommendations of the local education authorities, in place of those of the Board of Education, for the exemption from military service of the head masters of private schools on the ground of the urgent need of retaining the services of such head masters and of preventing the crippling effect on local education requirements of their being withdrawn from their scholastic duties; and, if not, 1795 whether he can make other arrangements for considering the claims of such applicants?
§ Sir A. GEDDESThere are considerable difficulties in the way of accepting recommendations from local education authorities, but arrangements have been made which will, I hope, meet the needs of the educational position. The instructions issued are rather too long to read in reply to a question, and I propose to circulate them in the OFFICIAL REPORT.
§ The instructions referred to are as follow:
§ No man who is now whole-time engaged as a teacher of general educational subjects, whether literary, technical, or scientific, in any school which was established before the War and which provides a general education to boys or girls, and who was engaged as a teacher (not necessarily as a head master or at the same school) before the War, is for the present to be called up for service, if he falls within the following classes, namely:
- (a) Teachers of any grade born in or before the year 1872. (It will therefore be unnecessary for such men to be medically examined if this has not already been done.)
- (b) Head masters born in or before the year 1881 who are in Grade 2 or Grade 3.
- (c) Assistant masters born in or before the year 1877 who are in Grade 2 or Grade 3.
§ Such men should be furnished with M.N.S.R. 3476, if or when they are not holders of any valid form of exemption.
§ Teachers not covered by these instructions have, of course, the ordinary right of making applications for exemption to tribunals.