§ Lieut.-Colonel HURSTasked the President of the Board of Education why the rules recently laid down by the Board with the object of fulfilling the Government's pledges to teachers who joined the Colours in the War contain no provision to benefit teachers who did not qualify for certificates within two years of passing the preliminary examination; whether the Board 425W has refused to see a deputation of the Manchester Day Training College on this subject; and whether he will reconsider such refusal, have regard to the promises previously held out to ex-service teachers?
Mr. LEWISThe promises, to which the hon. and gallant Member refers, are presumably those contained in the Board's Circulars 863 and 878, copies of which I am sending him. Those circulars related to students who were already in or had been accepted for admission to training colleges at the time of joining the forces, and I think the promises made in them have been amply fulfilled. As regards the deputation from the Manchester Day Training College, the students concerned were assisted by the Board under the scheme for the higher education of ex-service men to enter the training college after demobilisation. There is no evidence to show that their certification was in any way delayed by military service.