Captain CRAIGasked the Chief Secretary for Ireland whether privileged assistant teachers who have been deprived of positions as principals owing to amalgamation of schools are entitled to the same remuneration as if they had continued to be recognised as principals; does service as privileged assistant qualify for the same promotion and increment as if the teacher had continued to serve as principal of the separate school; whether highly efficient privileged assistants who, before amalgamation were principals of schools with an average attendance of at least 140 pupils, are eligible to receive a bonus in addition to grade salary on the same conditions as highly efficient principal teachers; how many privileged assistants have received the bonus; whether application for this bonus has been made on be half of one of the privileged assistants in Brown Street School, Belfast; is it a fact that the manager of the school has been advised that payment cannot be made on the ground that the teacher's service as principal before amalgamation was not reported as highly efficient; were the lower reports received more than ten years ago; will the proposed action of the Board in this case form a precedent for its future policy; can reports received so long previously now be taken into account in considering a teacher's claim to increased remuneration; is it proposed that such reports should prejudice the claim for bonus and on what grounds; does the Board intend to pay this teacher in future a salary lower than could have been earned in the separate school; would such action be in accordance with the provisions of rule 179 (f) of the code; and, if not, will he recommend to the Board that the decision in this case should be revised?
§ Mr. MACPHERSONUnder the regulations governing the new scales of payment for national school teachers which took effect from 1st April, 1917, the Commissioners of National Education were empowered to grant to principal teachers of schools with an average daily attendance of 140 pupils or above a supplemental salary of £30 per annum rising by incre-920W ments of £5 to a maximum of £50 per annum, provided that the service of these teachers was reported to be highly efficient. There were at that time serving in national schools three teachers who had formerly been principals of schools of the size mentioned above, which schools had been amalgamated with other schools in the vicinity; after amalgamation these teachers were recognised as privileged assistants in the amalgamated schools, and in accordance with the terms of Rule 179 (f) of the Commissioners' Code, were entitled to receive salaries not less than those of which they were in receipt as principals and to continue to be eligible for the award of increments and promotion on the same conditions as applied to them when they were serving as principal teachers prior to the amalgamation of their schools. The claims of these privileged assistants to the award of the supplemental salary were considered by the Commissioners in connection with the new regulations of 1917, and it was found that in the case of one of them the service rendered as principal was of a highly efficient character. Supplemental salary was awarded to this teacher with the special sanction of the Treasury. One of the teachers referred to, who is now serving as privileged assistant in Brown Street National School, Belfast, was principal teacher of Campbell's Row National School down to 30th June, 1910, after which date these two schools were amalgamated. The latter school had an average attendance in excess of 140 pupils. The manager of Brown Street National School made application last year for the payment of supplemental salary to the privileged assistant, but in view of the fact that her service as principal teacher of the Campbell's Row National School was not reported to be highly efficient the manager's request has not been granted. The claim for this supplemental salary which is given on account of service rendered in the capacity of principal teacher must be determined by the Commissioners in the light of the only available evidence in the case, that is, the manner in which the claimant discharged her duties when she occupied the position of principal teacher of a school with an average attendance of 140 pupils, and as her service in that position did not comply with the condition on which the new grant is dependent, namely, that of high efficience, it 921W is regretted that the manager's application on her behalf could not be favourably entertained.