§ Mr. WIGNALLasked the President of the Board of Education whether he will urge upon local education authorities the desirability of using their power to make by-laws raising the age at which children may leave the elementary school to fifteen years, with a view to further improving their education and diminishing the entry of boys and girls into industry at a period of industrial dislocation?
§ Mr. FISHERSection 8 (2) of the Education Act of 1918 left the discretion in this matter with the local education authorities; and I should be reluctant to urge them to take immediate action in view of the great difficulty, which will exist for some time to come, of providing the necessary accommodation and staffs for the children who would be retained in the schools by such a raising of age of school attendance.