§ 58. Mr. E. Smithasked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Education whether he has considered the need of revising the regulations governing the size of classes of infant, junior and other schools; and is it intended to make provision for classes not exceeding 30 in schools?
Mr. LindsayI would refer the hon. Member to the reply which I gave to the hon. Member for Stratford (Mr. Groves) on 9th February, a copy of which I am sending him. But I would add that any such proposal as the hon. Member suggests would raise most serious problems of finance and of school accommodation. Financially it would be quite impracticable to place this additional obligation, involving the expenditure of many millions of pounds, on local authorities and managers, who are already burdened with expenditure on reorganisation and making provision to meet the raising of the school age. Nor is this the appropriate time, when the school population is steadily falling, to embark on the very substantial building programme which the adoption of the proposal would necessitate.