§ Mr. WillisTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills (1) how many bursaries for primary teacher training posts are to be funded from the Sure Start programme in 2004–05; [148167]
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§ Alan Johnson[holding answer 15 January 2004]The Secretary of State for Education and Skills has responsibilities for student loanspaid to higher education students domiciled in England and Wales, and this information is therefore provided on an England and Wales basis.
The table shows the student loans issued, repaid, the interest added and the amount outstanding at the end of the year for financial years 1999–2000 to 2001–02, and the change between each financial year.
(2) how many of the additional initial teacher training places for primary teaching in 2004–05 will be eligible to receive bursaries; [148168]
(3) what plans he has to guarantee teaching posts to undergraduates who have received bursaries funded through the Sure Start programme. [148169]
§ Mr. MilibandI announced last month that a minimum of 400 initial teacher training places would be made available in the 2004/05 academic year for trainees with an early years specialism. These are all places on Postgraduate Certificate in Education courses and will therefore in principle attract £6,000 training bursaries. An additional £2 million will be made available to the Teacher Training Agency to cover the costs of the additional places that will fall in the 2004–05 financial year. In view of the growing demand for trained teachers in early years settings, there is every reason to expect that suitable employment opportunities will be available for the trainees who are being recruited to fill these places.