Curriculum (Hansard, 16 June 1981)

9. Mr. R. C. Mitchell
asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether he has any evidence of secondary schools dropping subjects from the curriculum because of cuts in the educational budget.

§ Mr. Mark Carlisle
Her Majesty's inspectors have reported some loss of subjects in certain schools but have pointed out that it is not possible to separate the effects of expenditure policies and the fall in pupil numbers.

Mr. Mitchell
Will the Department monitor the situation closely in various local education authorities? Even when a teacher leaves and is not replaced because of falling rolls, the teacher could be a specialist in a particular subject. Is the Secretary of State aware that this means that a subject may be dropped from the curriculum? The falling rolls argument has to be considered along with cuts in the education budget.

§ Mr. Carlisle
I accept what the hon. Gentleman says. It is one of the reasons behind the circular that we issued yesterday trying to draw the attention of local authorities to the educational advantages of keeping schools of viable size going rather than retaining too many schools, all of them taking fewer pupils.

§ Mr. William Shelton
Will not my right hon. and learned Friend agree that the decline in student numbers is probably greater than any cuts in education budgets over the next few years and that there will, therefore, be a net increase in expenditure per pupil?

§ Mr. Carlisle
My hon. Friend is right. This is a point I have made on many occasions. The reduction in expenditure that we seek is somewhat less than the reduction in the number of pupils.

§ Mr. Gwilym Roberts
Will the right hon. and learned Gentleman accept that it is not only a question of some courses disappearing, but that another effect will be that other courses, which should be expanded in the national interest, such as mathematics and computer science, will not be capable of expansion because of the cuts? This applies not only in secondary schools, but also in polytechnics and universities. Does he realise that the result is that students are diverted into less desirable courses.

§ Mr. Carlisle
I am sure that there is some value in what the hon. Gentleman says. The easiest way to avoid damage to the curriculum is by showing a willingness to review provision of education in an area to ensure adequate opportunities throughout the area instead of merely allowing individual schools and individual classes to get steadily smaller, when gaps in the curriculum inevitably start appearing.