§ 21. Mr. HURDasked the President to the Board of Education if he has received a memorial from the British Science Guild, recommending, inter alia, that duplicate inspectorships, State and local, should be discouraged, and pointing out that much of the time of the highest paid staff, teachers and officials alike, is now taken up with unnecessary clerical work; and what reply he is making to these representations?
§ The PRESIDENT of the BOARD of EDUCATION (Mr. Herbert Fisher)The British Science Guild have been good enough to send me a copy of a memorandum which they have published. I will, of course, consider it together with other documents of a similar character, but I do not think it would serve any useful purpose to enter into correspondence with the Guild upon the various propositions, assertions and suggestions which the memorandum contains.
§ Mr. HURDWere not these allegations as to unnecessary duplication of inspection and also as to unnecessary clerical work confirmed at the recent teachers' conference?
§ Mr. FISHERThere is always, of course, a good deal of grumbling about inspection, and there is also a good deal of grumbling about duplication. All I can say is that inspection is necessary if this House is to have any guarantee that the money which it votes for the service of education is adequately and properly expended. As to duplication, I am taking all the steps I can to avoid any unnecessary duplicatiou. I believe that the duplication is very greatly exaggerated, but I can assure the House that I am taking every possible step to avoid it.