* * • * The School-Leaving Bill At a meeting
of the Parliamentary labour Party on Tuesday the Minister of Education explained the necessity for compromising "under protest" with the Liberal Party on the Education Bill and he received a formal but reluctant permission. This Bill for raising the school age universally from fourteen to fifteen will, therefore, not come into operation until September, 1932, instead of next April. Further, though the main- tenance grant will remain at a flat rate of 5s. a week, local authorities, in accordance with the Liberal demand, will be allowed to inquire into the means of parents and to withhold the grant from those who arc in no need of it. The Government must expect a hot opposition from their Left Wing, but for our part we welcome the compromise. Neither school buildings nor the numbers of teachers are adequate for a great increase of pupils as soon as next April. In many districts there would be chaos. As for the maintenance grants, we are entirely in favour of discrimination. These are not the times for pouring out subsidies to those who are not likely to suffer any hardships from the lack of them—especially when the subsidy is for those who are merely obeying the law.
Previous page
