§ Mr. Sorensenasked the Secretary of State for the Colonies why men have been transferred from the East African Education Services to Sierra Leone; to what extent there is a shortage of trained 93W teachers in Sierra Leone; and what progress is being made in respect of the training of a sufficient number of teachers.
Mr. McNeilI have been asked to reply. The only officer so transferred during the past 18 months was the most suitable candidate for the particular post. In order to meet the present shortage of teachers in Sierra Leone training institutions are being rapidly expanded with the help of funds provided under the Colonial Development and Welfare Act, and 226 student teachers are now being trained as compared with 150 in 1947, and 75 in 1939. When this expansion takes full effect the annual output of trained teachers should be 122 as compared with 82 in the present year, and it is intended to increase this output further.