SCHOOL PROBLEMS

Wairarapa Times-Age, 9 February 1940, Page 5

SCHOOL PROBLEMS

POSITION IN BRITAIN SERIOUS ! I many Children displaced. | 1 URGENT ACTION PROMISED BY GOVERNMENT. (British omci.nl Wireless.) RUGBY. February 7. I Replying in the House of Lords today to the Archbishop of Canterbury. Dr Cosmo Lang, who asked whether the Government was in a position to make a statement of its education policy in the present conditions, with particular reference lo the problems caused by the evacuation of children of school age. the President of the Board of Education. Lord de la Warr, said he viewed the present education conditions. especially in the danger areas, with the same concern as the most ardent critic, but with no sense of apology.

What had happened was the logic of evacuation, he said. That was no reason for accepting the existing position, though it was the circumstances of airraid danger and not neglect which caused delay in the children's return io school.

Touching on the position in the reception and neutral areas. Lord de la Warr said there were still 490.000 official evacuees as well as many tens of thousands of unofficial evacuees. Of those between 80 and 90 per cent were working full-time at school. Some of the older children were short of practical facilities, but soon some of these children would be going to 20 new camps, which already had been allocated to the schools.

Turning to the danger areas, he said that a further lead must be given by the Government if children in the towns were to be saved from demoralisation. Of nearly 1,500,000 still in the danger areas, some 400,000 were receiving neither schooling nor medical care. Whatever the risk of air-raids—and he thought the risk still great—the situation could not be allowed to continue.

He added that though education was not simply the affair of lhe Board of Education, but was a system of partnership with the local authorities, he accepted the responsibility of the Government to give a lead, especially in war time, and he grouped the help which the Government could give to the local authorities under three heads —compulsory school attendance,, the return to the use of the school buildings, and air-raid precautions.

While there were no facilities for schooling it was dishonest to speak of enforcing attendance, but in the immediate future every child would have to go to school somewhere. "If parents are not willing to send their children to the comparative safety of the reception areas —a possibility which has been and still is open to every child —then they must send them to school in the towns." Lord de la Warr said. "As soon as accommodation is available, even if only at first for part-time use. attendance will be enforced, and assistance to this end will be given the local authorities.” Regading the return of the school buildings, he said that commandeering by the Government was not the most serious problem, as its departments had been helpful in relinguishing them, and he instanced the Office of Works, which had handed back 721 out of 79 schools taken over.

The real problem was where the school biddings had been taken by a local authority for civil defence purposes. This problem was being met in consultation with the Ministers of Security nad Health. The authorities would be instructed to proceed with building air-raid shelters and, as soon as their completion was in sight, children would be admitted to the .schools.