The Industrial Revolution and rapid urbanisation undermined the effectiveness of the Scottish church school system that had grown up since the Reformation, creating major gaps in provision and religious divisions would begin to undermine the unity of the system. The publication of George Lewis's "Scotland: a Half Educated Nation" in 1834 began a major debate on the suitability of the parish school system, particularly in rapidly expanding urban areas. Aware of the growing shortfall in provision the Kirk set up an education committee in 1824. The committee had established 214 "assembly schools" between 1824 and 1865 and 120 "sessional schools", were mainly established by kirk sessions in towns and aimed at the children of the poor. The Disruption of 1843 fragmented the kirk school system, with 408 teachers in schools joining the breakaway Free Church. By May 1847 it was claimed that 500 schools had been built by the new church, along with two teacher training colleges and a ministerial training college. The influx of large numbers of Irish immigrants in the nineteenth century led to the establishment of Catholic schools, particularly in the urban west of the country, beginning with Glasgow in 1817. The church schools system was now divided between three major bodies, the established Kirk, the Free Church and the Catholic Church. The perceived problems and fragmentation of the Scottish school system led to a process of secularisation, as the state took increasing control. From 1830 the state began to fund buildings with grants, then from 1846 it was funding schools by direct sponsorship. The 1861 Education Act removed the provision stating that Scottish teachers had to be members of the Church of Scotland or subscribe to the Westminster Confession. Under the 1872 Education (Scotland) Act, approximately 1,000 regional School Boards were established which took over the schools of the old and new kirks. and the boards undertook a major programme that created large numbers of grand, purpose-built schools. Overall administration was in the hands of the Scotch (later Scottish) Education Department in London.