Industry News
Number of unqualified teachers in schools soars
Posted on 17th April 2008
Government figures have suggested that the number of unqualified teachers working in the UK has risen by 500 per cent in the last ten years.
In 1997 there were 2,940 teachers working in state schools without the necessary Qualified Teacher Status. Today the number stands at 16,710.
Of those teachers, two-thirds were from abroad.
Shadow children's secretary Michael Gove said that the huge increase in the number of teachers from abroad was partly due to many British teachers leaving the profession.
"Increasing problems in many schools with discipline and bureaucracy simply put many people off," he said.
However, chief executive of the Training and Development Agency for Schools Graham Holley told the BBC: "It is entirely sensible for schools to be able to draw on a pool of skilled teachers, including those who have trained overseas."
In related news, a Channel Four News survey has discovered that 300 primary school sites have been sold off over the last decade, generating £230 million for local authorities. The National Union of Teachers has warned that as a result class sizes could soar.