Chemistry: Teacher Training Bursary (Hansard, 29 January 1990)

§ Baroness Blatch
Yes, my Lords, we believe it has. In 1987 there were 376 recruits to postgraduate chemistry courses. In 1988 there were 334. In 1989, the first year of the chemistry bursary, the numbers increased to 383.

§ Baroness Platt of Writtle
My Lords, I am most grateful to my noble friend for that encouraging reply. I received a letter this morning from the Royal Society of Chemistry which stated that it has long pressed the Government as regards the introduction of this bursary scheme for chemistry and that it welcomes the Government's decision, taken a year ago, to do so. The society believes that the bursary 7 scheme has had a beneficial effect and states that last year the highest figure in enrolments for six years was reached. I am personally especially interested in the teaching of sciences and chemistry.

Noble Lords
Question!

§ Baroness Platt of Writtle
My Lords, I should like to ask my noble friend to comment upon the general teaching supply situation because, although we want children to be scientifically educated, we also wish them to be broadly educated in the humanities.

§ Baroness Blatch
My Lords, I welcome the statement from the Royal Society of Chemistry. It is always most useful at this point in a scheme to have some feedback. As regards teachers generally, over the country as a whole there are sufficient primary school teachers and a few problems with shortages. Nevertheless, there are problems in some areas, especially inner London. Recruitment to primary initial teacher training continues to be buoyant and there should be sufficient teachers overall to meet demand in the future.
However, I think it is well known, by virtue of a Question which I answered last week, that there are some difficulties in secondary schools as regards particular specialist subjects.

§ Lord Tordoff
My Lords, will the Minister be good enough to inform the House how many of the people taking up these bursaries are women? I ask that because, as the noble Baroness will know, there is a shortage of science teachers in girls' schools and this leads to a difficult situation in producing sufficient women graduates in the subject.

§ Baroness Blatch
My Lords, I am not able to give a specific answer to that question. However, I should like to think that following the introduction of the national curriculum —that is, treating all boys and girls equally —we shall see no differential between the two sexes.

§ Baroness David
My Lords, is the Minister aware that the DES forecast a shortfall of 2,000 chemistry teachers by 1995? Further, has this prediction been updated? Moreover, as the noble Baroness, Lady Platt of Writtle, mentioned the Royal Society of Chemistry, is she also aware that the society is still not satisfied with the position and that it is hoping that the DES will fund certain in-service training initiatives involving the Open University? Can the Minister tell us whether such training will be introduced?

§ Baroness Blatch
My Lords, I am not aware of the specific information to which the noble Baroness referred. However, I can confirm that there were difficulties with this particular subject. That is why the Government introduced the bursary scheme in the first place. There are encouraging signs that the bursary scheme is working and I hope that it will continue to do so. It is worth repeating that, as the implementation of the national curriculum settles 8 down in our schools, a better flow of chemists will result.

§ Baroness David
My Lords, can the Minister say whether the DES has reviewed the effectiveness of the bursary scheme? I ask that question because initially a number of students changed over to the scheme in order to receive the £1,300 tax free allowance and thereafter the intake dropped slightly. Further, is there any proposal for review, as there are other shortage subjects?

§ Baroness Blatch
My Lords, the noble Baroness is right to point out the difficulty as to whether the scheme is working. The Government are constantly reviewing the situation. Indeed, it was as a result of the review that chemistry was brought into the bursary scheme and it is likely that other shortage subjects will be included. Therefore, I can promise her that review is a continuing process.

§ Lord Ritchie of Dundee
My Lords, reverting to the question of general subjects, can the Minister give us any idea of what proportion of teachers in inner London are deterred from remaining in the area because they cannot afford to live there?

§ Baroness Blatch
My Lords, again, I cannot answer the specific question. However, I know that accommodation is a particular issue in inner London. The cost of housing is a problem but the hope is that as the housing market settles down it will become much easier for teachers to make that decision. However, I also know that the Government are addressing the problem, together with local education authorities.