§ Mr. Peter Robinsonasked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) whether he has any plans to change the present staff-student ratio in Northern Ireland's teacher training colleges;
(2) what are the staff-student ratios in each of the teacher training colleges in Northern Ireland;
(3) what is the staff-student ratio recommended for teacher training colleges by the Department of Education.
§ Mr. ScottThe current staff/student ratios are as follows:
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ratio Stranmillis college 1 : 5.9 St. Mary's 1 : 6.8 St. Joseph's 1 : 6.7 The recommended ratio is 1:10; a disproportionately lower figure prevailed in recent years due to the reduction in student numbers, but the target of 1:10 has been firmly established for the commencement of the 1985–86 academic year and the colleges are already taking measures to achieve this objective.