Teachers: Subject Shortages (Hansard, 9 December 1992)

§ Baroness Blatch
My Lords, the Government have already taken action to increase the supply of teachers, especially in those secondary subjects which have traditionally presented the most severe recruitment 187 difficulties. I am delighted to say that there are few vacancies in primary and secondary schools in any subject.

§ Lord Dormand of Easington
My Lords, in spite of that Answer does the Minister agree that there are persistent shortages in the subjects that I have listed on the Order Paper? Has any research been carried out into the causes of those shortages because we should know more about the situation? Furthermore, what consultations have taken place with the teachers' unions about the problem, particularly as it affects the national curriculum?

§ Baroness Blatch
My Lords, I disagree with the premise upon which the noble Lord based his remarks; there are not persistent shortages in those subjects. According to the latest count, there is only a 0.5 per cent. vacancy rate. Out of 400,000 teachers there are only 43 vacancies in music, 77 in maths, 85 in science and 176 in modern foreign languages.

§ Lord Mackay of Ardbrecknish
My Lords, is my noble friend aware that those figures will be widely welcomed? To what extent have those improvements been brought about by the introduction of articled and licensed teachers in the teeth of opposition from the teachers' unions? Furthermore, if a problem does arise, will she consider paying more to those teachers in the subjects of shortage?

§ Baroness Blatch
My Lords, I agree that opening up the routes into teaching has brought into the classroom more teachers with an expertise. Therefore, the articled and licensed teaching routes have helped. In addition, there has been the setting up of the unit of Teaching as a Career and the bursary schemes which involve paying more money to those who come into teaching to teach the shortage subjects. The tax-free bursaries for those shortage subjects have also brought about an improvement.

§ Baroness Seear
My Lords, what use, if any, has been made of the considerable number of older people, many of whom are nationals of other countries such as Germany and Austria, and who are active in what is known as the University of the Third Age? Undoubtedly they could help with conversation classes, which is one of the most important aspects of language teaching. Has that source been adequately tapped?

§ Baroness Blatch
My Lords, the noble Baroness makes an important point. It is open to the school and its policy to recruit language assistants from wherever. If they are available in an area, whether or not they are of the Third Age, that is a good policy to follow.

§ Lord Strabolgi
My Lords, if there is no great shortage of teachers, when do the Government intend to begin teaching modern languages at the primary stage in common with most of our European partners whom we lag behind?

§ Baroness Blatch
My Lords, it remains government policy to teach languages to pupils at a younger age. However, there are two serious problems, one of which is logistical. Until the national curriculum 188 compulsory language teaching from the age of 11 is fed into the system we shall not have a cohort of young people leaving school at 16, 17 or 18 from which our new teacher recruits will come. The second problem is the finance to support that. That is our aim but, in the meantime, we hope that where a primary school has the expertise to teach a language it will do so.

§ Lord Judd
My Lords, has the Minister been able to study the tables prepared by her department which will form part of the 1992 secondary schools staffing survey? Does she agree that they reveal that 10 per cent. of maths teachers have no academic qualifications in maths; 9 per cent. of French teachers have none in French; 13 per cent. of German teachers have none in German—

Noble Lords
Reading!

§ Lord Judd
That 9 per cent. of general science teachers have no academic qualifications in general science? Indeed, overall almost one teacher in five has no professional academic qualifications in the subject which he is teaching. How can that he satisfactory? What will the Minister do about that?

§ Baroness Blatch
My Lords, I can answer the noble Lord's question precisely. He is referring to teachers with no qualifications for teaching those subjects. Perhaps I can put it another way: 95 per cent. of people teach music as a primary subject; 90 per cent. maths; 96 per cent. Physics—

Noble Lords
Reading!

§ Baroness Blatch
My Lords, 97 per cent. chemistry; 89 per cent. biology; 91 per cent. French; and 87 per cent. German. I believe that that is a very good record.