Colleges of Education

HC Deb 15 December 1976 vol 922 cc1510-1

11. Mrs. Bain

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he is yet in a position to make a statement on the future of Scottish colleges of education.

Mr. McElhone

My right hon. Friend hopes to issue a consultative document on this matter very soon.

Mrs. Bain

Is the Minister aware that that statement will be greeted with derision in Scottish colleges of education, where there is a great deal of dissatisfaction with the Government's handling of teacher recruitment and morale is extremely low? Many people in the colleges do not know whether they will be employed in the next two years.

Mr. McElhone

I am not aware of any derision from the colleges on this document. It is a very complex matter, which involves many factors and needs full discussion. I am aware of the need to publish the document as soon as possible, and I am hoping to bring it out in the next few weeks.

Mr. Canavan

Will my hon. Friend assure us that there will be maximum consultation with teachers' unions, lecturers' unions and students' unions, because the very existence of some of the smaller colleges such as Callendar Park could be at stake? What is even more important is that we must make the most of the chance to use additional teachers to increase the educational opportunities of many schoolchildren in Scotland.

Mr. McElhone

I give my hon. Friend the assurance that we shall consult not only those bodies that he mentioned but local authorities and all other bodies with an interest in this matter.

Mr. Alexander Fletcher

How can the Minister control public expenditure on education, or anything else, when the latest information on teachers employed in Scotland is for September 1975? What is the Watch on Manpower Committee—a body with a pompous title—doing about this? Teachers are paid on a monthly basis, so why is it not possible to find out how many of them are employed on a month-by-month basis?

Mr. McElhone

I am considering the problem of bringing in more up-to-date information as soon as possible. In Edinburgh we published the figures for 1976 for pupils and teachers in Scottish schools.