asked the Minister for Education if he will state to what extent the Commissioners' rules and regulations with regard to national schools are still in force; how long those rules have been out of print; whether the changes, emendations and additions to the rules made during the past seven years have been printed; and, if so, whether they are available in collected form for teachers and managers, and when will the rules which now obtain be codified and printed, and whether the Minister will, in the meantime, make due allowance for teachers accused of violating the rules.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - National Schools (Rules and Regulations).
The last complete issue of the rules and regulations for national schools was printed and published in 1919. That edition has been out of print for the last few years. The changes, emendations and additions to the rules made during the past seven years have been printed in pamphlet form from time to time, and copies were sent as a matter of course to all managers and teachers of national schools. The work of re-arranging and re-codifying the rules has been proceeding in my Department for some time, and the new edition, which is in course of preparation, will be published at an early date. In regard to the concluding portion of the question I have no reason for believing that any teacher employed in a national school need be unaware of the existing regulations, seeing that a copy of the rules in force in 1919 was issued to each school and that all changes made since have also been notified to the teachers.
If the Minister could state how many changes have been made and whether all these changes have been compiled and issued in one leaflet there might be sense in the reply. I have met two teachers who definitely assured me that they did not know the rules with the violation of which they were charged.
I have come across no cases of the kind mentioned by the Deputy. No doubt in future it might be urged as an excuse, but these pamphlets have not been issued in one form. I could not tell the Deputy the number of changes in the rules—they are quite considerable.
Have the rules been issued to all teachers or only to schools?
To schools.
Mr. O'Connell
Some assistant teachers have not had an opportunity of seeing them.