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41
SCHOOLS.
All the schools in the district are regularly inspected, when any
defect in the sanitary arrangements or water supply are dealt with.
With one exception, the whole of the schools are connected with
the sewer. Castle School, Rippleside, is cesspool drained.
The schools of the district were built, as I have said on many
occasions, not wisely but too well.
With the development of the Becontree Estate an exceptional
opportunity presents itself for school construction on hygienic
principles.
The Council, through the Education Committee, is responsible
for seeing that the schools are provided, and of course it is expected
that the schools would be suitable, and the Council, through the
Public Health Committee, is responsible for seeing that the schools
are suitable.
Where, as in Barking, the Medical Officer of Health is School
Medical Officer, a lot of unnecessary duplicating of actual work is
avoided and there is not the need for conferences between the
Education Committee and the Health Committee which there
would otherwise be, but in order to emphasize the importance of
the hygienic principles of school construction it might be wise that
on the Committee dealing with school construction there should be
members definitely representing the Health Committee.
This matter is not of such pressing moment now when most of
the members of the Council sit on both Committees, but it may
well become very important when in the future, owing to the large
amount of work which is being transacted the actual number of
members sitting on each individual Committee would be restricted.