§ 22. Mr. MILLSasked the President of the Board of Education the number of discharges of teachers that have taken place in the county of Kent; whether they are being dismissed on grounds of economy; what is the present ratio of children to teachers; and whether, in view of the public interest in the future of education, he will reconsider the appointment of a Select Committee of the House of Commons to go into these and the financial provisions affecting educational staffs?
§ Mr. FISHERI have no precise figures as to the number of teachers whose services have been dispensed with by the Kent Local Education Authority in the past two months, but I understand that very few reductions of staff have taken place. The average number of pupils per adult teacher in public elementary schools in this area on the 31st March, 1921—the latest date for which information is at present available—was 31. As regards the last part of the question, I have nothing to add to previous answers on the subject.