§ Mr. BOLANDasked the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland whether his attention has been drawn to 918W the statements of the English Board of Education and of the Scottish Board of Education to the effect that no written examinations in science are held by either of those Departments as a mode of determining the amount of their grants to secondary schools in England, Wales, or Scotland; and whether, in view of the fact that the Intermediate Board for Ireland, without consulting any educational bodies in Ireland, has imposed a rule of this kind, steps will now be taken to get this rule repealed, so that science teaching in Irish secondary schools may be given the same amount of freedom as in Great Britain?
§ Mr. DUKEI have seen the statements referred to. The Board of Intermediate Education inform me that they are not free to model their method of awarding grants to secondary schools on the practice of other Boards, as their powers in this respect are prescribed by Statute, which they are bound to follow.