§ 21. Mr. M. Stewartasked the Minister of Education what local education authorities have, in the last 12 months, made proposals to him for the establishment of teachers' training colleges; and what reply he has made.
§ Sir E. BoyleThe only firm proposal was one made in November, 1956, by the West Bromwich Local Education Authority. The authority was told that the Minister could not agree to it.
§ Mr. StewartCould the hon. Gentleman say why that proposal was refused? Is it not the case that if we are to make any educational progress with smaller classes and the raising of the school-leaving age we are bound to need a bigger intake of teachers than we are getting at present?
§ Sir E. BoyleI know the concern of the hon. Member in this matter, which we have debated before. At the moment, we do not think that a heavy expenditure now in starting new colleges would be justified. If we want to increase the supply of teachers from training colleges, it would be more economical to expand existing colleges than to establish new ones. If circumstances and policies change and larger plant is needed, we shall look at this again in consultation with the National Advisory Council. I 591 am glad to say that we are now getting more graduates each year into teaching, which is naturally something of which we must take account.