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48
The note to Article 73 states " in order that a school
* may be properly organised it should be arranged that
the number of children habitually present at any one
time, under the instructions of any teacher or teachers,
should not exceed, by more than 15 per cent, the
number for which such teacher or teachers is or are
* considered to be sufficient"; and Article 85 states
"no room may be habitually used for a larger number
of scholars than that for which it is passed by the
Department." You will observe that the term " habitually
" is usf d in both cases ; in the latter case the
* sanitary condition of the premises is the point to be
guarded, in the former efficiency of teaching. So
elastic a term is employed in view of the possibility of
any sudden influx of numbers, which may require a
short time for judicious distribution of the scholars and
some re.organisation of classes. As regards the insanitary
overcrowding of a room, the term "habitual"
should be held to include any unnecessary delay in such
re.organisation. As regards the efficiency of the
teaching, much will depend upon the skill, health, and
energy of the teacher, and upon the nature of the class,
and you will judge according to the circumstances of
the case.
It is manifest, therefore, that for a certain indeterminate, fraction of
the school year the number of scholars in attendance may be in excess of
the accommodation provided. If, however, the average attendance for the
year exceed the certified accommodation, the school will he liable to be
fined.
The reasons for the elasticity allowed in respect of attendance in
excess of accommodation, is the desire to prevent the exclusion of
scholars, simply on the ground that any given class.room, or class is full.
• Under Article 78 it is prescribed that a child shall be refused admission
to a school on "reasonable grounds" only, and it appears that the
Education Department does not consider the fact of a given class or
class.room being fully occupied as a "reasonable ground" for refusal.
They hold that the child should be admitted, and the temporary overcrowding
be abated by means of re.arrangement of classes. The
elasticity is permitted also as a temporary measure to supply a sudden
demand for extra school accommodation in a given district, but the
overcrowding is not to be permitted to persist for more than the shortest
possible period. The following extract from a letter addressed to the
London School Board expresses the views of the Education Department