1925-1926-1927 - Department of Education and Skills

6CHAPTER n.PRDIARY EDUCATIOr .LTHE SCHOOL ATTEND.A1 CE ACT.The Act was brought into force from 1st October, 1926, in theCounty Boroughs of Cork, Dublin and Waterford and in theUrban Districts of Blackrcck, Dun Laoghaire, Rathmines andRathgar, and Pembroke. Owing to the very considerableamount of preparation involved it was not possible to arrangefor its effective enforcement in the County Boroughs and UrbanDistricts during the December Quarter of 1926, but it was putinto full operation in the whole area of the Saorstat from there-opening of the schools after the Christmas vacation.The results already achieved are very satisfactory. The SchoolReturns for the quarters ended 31st March, 1927, and 30th June,1927, reveal a considerable increase in the attendance for thoseperiods as compared with the corresponding quarters in 1926 andprevious years, notwithstanding the fact that the influenzaepidemic in the early part of the year was so severe as to necessitatea prolonged closing of the schools in many areas.It is not possible at present to estimate the exact extent of theincrease since the Act came into force, but a preliminary scrutinyof the Returns shows increa es varying from 2% to 10% in differentareas.The average number of pupils on the rolls of ational Schoolsand the percentage of attendance for the years ended (a) 31stDecember, 1924, and (b) 30th June, 1926. were approximately asfollows :-Average on Rolls. Percentage of Attendance.(a)(b)493,000518,00073.577.The increase in the enrolments for the year ended 30th June,1926, as compared with the year ended 31st December, 1924. waschiefly due to the recognition of the Christian Brothers' Schoolsas National Schools and to the stimulus given at the time by thedebates on the School Attendance Bill.It is anticipated tbat the percentage of attendance for the yearended 30th June. 1927-which of course includes only six monthsof effective operation of the Act-will be, approximately,80%. In some areas. e.pecially in those in which the provisionsof the Act of 1892 had not been enforced, the increase in theattendance is more marked than in others. In Tirconaill. forexample. the percentage increased from 72 to 77. in Carlow from