CLAUSE 28.—(Saving as to position of teachers.) (Hansard, 27 July 1944)

§ Mr. Butler

I beg to move, "That this House doth agree with the Lords in the said Amendment."

I think it would be convenient if I were to deal at the same time with the following one—in line 41 to leave out from the second "school" to "or" in line 42. They deal with the proviso as it originally stood to Clause 28 which was thought 945 to be unsatisfactory, and was, in fact, capable of certain misinterpretations, one of which was that it would have been possible to say under it that teachers in aided schools, and reserved teachers in controlled and special agreement schools, should receive less emoluments or be disqualified from promotion because they actually went to church. The Government thought it was wiser to amend the proviso, and we have therefore done so in the way indicated. The Amendments get rid of this, and similar misinterpretations of the Clause. They give certain protection to reserved teachers and teachers in aided schools, namely, against receiving any less emoluments or being disqualified from promotion, but they leave it open to such teachers to be appointed upon the basis of their religious beliefs, which is continuing the present practice in such schools, and to have required religious instruction. Therefore, by this redrafting, which is rather longer than the old draft, we make the position clearer in respect of different sorts of teachers, and do not impose any liability or fresh danger or difficulty upon the teaching profession by the words we are using.