§ Mr. Greenwayasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many religious education specialists he expects to come into the schools each year between the current year and 1985; and whether he estimates that this will be sufficient to remove the need for any secondary school pupil from then onwards to be taught by teachers unqualifed in the subject.
§ Dr. BoysonIt is estimated that 500 specialist religious educaton teachers completed training this year. The number is likely to be nearer 400 next year and thereafter numbers will depend largely upon the success of institutions in recruiting students to PGCE courses. The recent trend has been encouraging. There is, however, no immediate prospect of ensuring that all secondary school tuition in RE is given by teachers qualified in that subject. The extent to which the proportion of RE teaching given by RE specialists changes between now and 1985 will depend not only on the output from initial training, but on the rates of wastage from teaching and rate of re-entry to it of RE specialists; and on the way in which those specialists are deployed in the schools.
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§ Mr. Greenwayasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is his estimate of the number of religious education specialists required each year to compensate for natural wastage brought about by retirement or by transfer to another subject.
§ Dr. BoysonThis information is not available within my Department.