§ 24. Mr. Malcolm MacPhersonasked the Secretary of State for the Colonies how many children of school age in Tanganyika live at such distance from school as to make it impracticable for them to attend without transport.
§ Mr. ProfumoThis information is not available.
§ Mr. MacPhersonDo not a very large number of children live so far away from the schools that it is unreasonable to expect them to go? In view of that 1406 fact, and of the comparatively high fees charged, does not the Under-Secretary of State think that he ought to withdraw the strictures which he made on the parents of Tanganyika for not using to the full the school places?
§ Mr. ProfumoNo, Sir, I do not think so. I thought very carefully before I said what I did on that occasion. I think the hon. Gentleman will find that there is substance in what I said about the difficulty which must exist in territories of this sort with the number of schools in rural areas where the population is very sparsely distributed. The Government are doing all they can to provide the right number of schools in the right places.