§ Mr. PIRIEasked the Secretary for Scotland whether his attention has been called to the rule of certain county committees requiring their "A" bursars to attend county higher grade schools, notwithstanding the fact that a burgh higher grade school may be much nearer and more convenient; and whether he will give directions that "A" bursars, who have been duly nominated by school boards, shall be free to attend whatever school they themselves may select, whether the same is in a burgh or county?
Mr. McKINNON WOODThe only three county committee schemes that recognise a specific class of "A" bursars are those of Aberdeen, Clackmannan, and Perth. In the case of the two latter there is no limitation which it is possible to identify with the "rule" referred to by the hon. Member. The Aberdeenshire committee require that their "A" bursaries shall be tenable at schools "in the county, being the nearest to the bursar's residence." The Department, however, have no reason to believe that this requirement is interpreted in the manner implied in the question. As a matter of fact, they find that the majority of the "A" bursaries awarded by the committee in 1911 are held by pupils who are in attendance at schools within burghs, including the burgh of Aberdeen, and at least one burgh outside the county altogether.
§ Mr. PIRIEasked the Secretary for Scotland if he will state, with reference to the expenditure on higher grade schools in Scotland and to the statement that the greater part of their cost would have to be incurred in any case were no intermediate curriculum provided, what amount of expenditure on buildings and equipment has been incurred on schools that have become higher grade since the institution of the intermediate certificate; and what is the extra annual charge on such schools since they became higher grade, including, if possible, interest and repayment of loans, charges, administration and up-keep charges, plus bursaries and travelling allowances attaching to these schools?
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Mr. McKINNON WOODThe Department do not have in their possession the information necessary to enable them to enable them to furnish the statement for which the hon. Member asks. Any attempt to obtain it would entail a very large expenditure of time and labour, not only upon the Department, but also upon the various school authorities and secondary education committees throughout Scotland. Furthermore, the statement, when compiled, would not furnish a satisfactory basis for deductions of any sort, inasmuch as it would be impossible to secure that the different parties concerned would follow any uniform principle in their endeavours to separate the cost of instructing intermediate pupils from the cost of instructing primary, supplementary and post-intermediate pupils, taught under the same roof and, to a certain extent, by the same staff. In the circumstances, I can only regret that I cannot see my way to comply with the hon. Member's request.