HC Deb 21 July 1947 vol 440 cc102-3W
83. Mr. Parkin

asked the Minister of Works how many colleges he has provided under the Minister of Education's emergency scheme for training teachers to enable the school-leaving age to be raised.

Mr. Key

The first college was opened in May, 1945, and by the end of May this year 51 colleges, the majority of which are residential, had been opened, providing training facilities for nearly 12,000 students. Three of these colleges, accommodating 385 students, were provided by the local education authorities, my Ministry supplying only furniture. When work in progress on a further seven colleges has been completed in the course of this year, a total of 13,519 places in 58 colleges will have been provided in 2½ years. Use has been made of camps, hostels and other existing buildings, supplemented by new temporary buildings. In a number of cases the work has been carried out by my mobile direct labour force.