The Nation's Education
The first day's debate on the Education Bill in the House of Com- mons on Wednesday took a satisfactory course, many committee-stage questions being touched on, with every indication of an overwhelm- ingly favourable second-reading vote. Mr. Butler himself had little new to say, because all that was necessary had been said in the explana- tory memorandum issued by the Board of Education with the text of the Bill itself, but he gave some reassuring facts about the steps taken to remedy the inevitable shortage of teachers and was at pains to dispel any idea that local authorities would be over-ridden by Whitehall. What is before Parliament is a completely new and comprehensive scheme of national education, patiently framed after the fullest discussion with all the interests most concerned, and with the supreme interest, that of the child, by general consent para- mount. In the matter of religious teaching some compromise is inevitably necessary. It is quite true, as Sir Geoffrey Shakespeare affirmed, that in some single-school areas Free Church parents have to send their children to Church of England schools, though the cases in which they feel that a serious grievance are relatively few. In any event the number of such areas will be greatly reduced by the present Bill, for some thousands of non-provided schools will be handed over to the local authorities through the inability of their trustees to find the money needed to raise them to the required standard. The case of the Roman Catholics, who are unwilling to hand over any of their schools, but will be involved in very heavy expenses in conforming with the new standards, is admittedly difficult. No special discrimination in their favour is practicable, but any reasonable proposals made on the committee stage will no doubt be sympathetically considered. Behind the Bill as a whole there is fortunately such a body of support both inside and outside the House of Commons as to make its smooth and swift passage into law certain.
