Pupil-Teacher Ratio (Hansard, 12 December 1991)

§ 4. Mr. Harry Greenway
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is the current pupil-teacher ratio; what the comparable figures were in May 1979; and if he will make a statement.

§ Dr. Mawhinney
The pupil-teacher ratio at January 1991, the latest date for which figures are available, was 18.2. The figure for January 1979 was 19.1.

§ Mr. Greenway
Will my hon. Friend pass on my congratulations to all who were involved in that improvement? Pupils will benefit, and that must be the object of the exercise. Has not the time come, however, to evaluate the optimum pupil-teacher ratio for pupils at any given age, with a view to establishing it? As I have said before, there are those who cannot teach one pupil, and others who can teach a hundred with great facility.

§ Dr. Mawhinney
I am grateful to my hon. Friend for his kind comments, and for the continuing interest that he takes in this subject. I am sure that he is right in saying that the reduced pupil-teacher ratio provides children with an advantage, and also in pointing out that the quality of teaching and the ability of teachers is at least as important.
The idea of trying to work out an optimum ratio is interesting, and we should like to think about it further.

§ Mr. McGrady
I hope that the Minister is more successful with his new portfolio than his predecessors were and I wish him all the best in the difficult task that lies ahead of him.
Now that the education and library boards independently assess the formula according to which they delegate budgets to schools, does not the Minister fear that a great disparity in provision will result—not only in regard to pupil-teacher ratios, but in regard to every other aspect of provision across the different area boards?

§ Dr. Mawhinney
I am grateful to the hon. Member for his kind personal remarks, although I enter a caveat in regard to what he said about my predecessors.
Part of the purpose of education reform was to delegate downwards from the Department of Education, closer to the chalk face, tasks such as determining the necessary budgets, teacher numbers, and so forth. I suspect that the hon. Gentleman may have in mind some initial teething troubles that were experienced this year in connection with local management of primary schools. The Department is examining that issue closely, in conjunction with the boards.

§ Mr. Beggs
Was the significant increase in the number of temporary and part-time teachers included in the calculation of pupil-teacher ratios? Many parents feel that the speed of education reform and curriculum change has caused their children to suffer because their usual classroom or subject teachers are often taken out of the classroom to undergo courses related specifically to those changes.

§ Dr. Mawhinney
As the Minister responsible at the time, let me tell the hon. Gentleman that we went to great lengths to minimise the disruption caused in classrooms by the provision of necessary training related to the introduction of education reforms. The hon. Gentleman will recall that, on some exceptional days, schools were closed so that teachers could be trained.
Year in, year out, there is always an element of disruption, which is unconnected with education reform, as teachers undergo various courses to upgrade their skills. That is an essential part of the education process, and I do not believe that it was greatly exacerbated by the introduction of reforms.