§ Mr. PALINGasked the President of the Board of Education how many additional teachers would be required in public elementary schools in England and Wales if the maximum number of scholars in any class was reduced to 44?
Mr. WOODIf an absolute maximum of 44 children per class were imposed, the number of children excluded from classes which, according to the latest figures I possess, that is, those relating to the 31st March, 1921, exceed that number would be about 488,680, for whom at. the same rate and on a purely arithmetical basis 11,015 teachers would be required. On the other hand, the imposition of such a maximum would afford a strong inducement to local education authorities to economise by increasing the size of classes under 44, and I find that in classes which contain less than 44 children there is, on a similar basis, room for about 1,285,540 more children without exceeding the maximum. It is, of course, obvious that a purely arithmetical calculation is fallacious, and that apart from a detailed examination of the accommodation in schools, the number and size of classrooms, and the classification of the scholars, it is impossible to say how many additional teachers would be employed to educate children excluded from large classes or how far their employment could be avoided by increasing the size of small classes. While it is, I think, certain that 49W the imposition of such a maximum would involve the employment of more teachers, it is not possible to say how many.