§ Mr. SPENCERasked the President of the Board of Education whether his attention has been drawn to the difficulty being experienced by student teachers in gaining admission to the training colleges owing to the restrictions placed by his Department upon the number of entrants to those colleges; and whether he has recommended local education authorities to take any steps to deal with the situation likely to arise therefrom?
§ Sir D. MACLEANOwing to the diminished prospects of employment in the teaching profession, the Board have felt it necsesary to impose some restriction on the number of students admitted to training colleges, and it is partly on this account that an exceptionally large number of applications for admission have this year been unsuccessful, though in recent years the number of applications for admission has always exceeded the number of vacancies. I am aware that some student teachers may be included among the unsuccessful applicants, but I would remind my hon. Friend that since 1926, following the report of a Departmental Committee, the Board have discouraged the appointment of student584W teachers, and that they now form a very small proportion of the candidates for admission to training colleges. In the circumstances, I do not think that I can usefully make any suggestions to local education authorities in regard to these or any other cases in which unsuccessful applications have been made.