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xix.
unfit to attend, the number of cases of malingering would diminish, and
the attendance increase in consequence. If only 5 per cent. of the 868 absent
children had attended, it would have meant a sum of over £80 added to the
grant, and in addition the Gommtttee, by having their own doctor, would
have saved most if not all of the £20 spent on medical certificates.
On the other hand it is only fair to point out that probably a certain
number of children now attending School would be excluded as being unfit
on medical examination, and this would tend to reduce the number of attendances.
This reduction would, however, be possibly more than balanced
by the number of children whose period of exclusion on account of real
disease such as ringworm, verminous heads, itch, etc., would be lessened if
proper treatment at home was insisted upon.
Yours faithfully,
EDWARD J. STEEGMANN.
January, 1906.