§ Mr. Montgomeryasked the Minister of Education when he proposes to make it a general requirement that persons appointed for the first time as qualified teachers shall have completed a course of training.
§ Sir D. EcclesI cannot say when it will be possible to consider a general requirement of this kind. Our first priority must be the elimination of oversize classes.
§ Mr. Montgomeryasked the Minister of Education if he will state the number of graduates, in each of the following categories, who have been granted the status of qualified teacher in each of the last five years, namely, after obtaining a diploma in education, without having taken a course of teacher training, and after having failed to obtain a diploma in education.
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§ Sir D. EcclesThe information is as follows:
Year* Graduates regarded as qualified teachers who:— (a) completed a course of training to the satisfaction of the Area Training Organisation† (b) did not successfully complete the training course but were recommended for the status of qualified teacher (c) entered primary or secondary schools untrained 1954–55 … … 2,592 32 1,726 1955–56 … … 2,424 27 1,801 1956–57 … … 2,614 16 2,629 1957–58 … … 2,782 30 2,825 1958–59 … … 3,009 47 3,814 * In Cols. (a) and (b) the year refers to the educational year September-July; In Col. (c) the year refers to the financial year April-March. † Not all of these candidates are awarded a Diploma in Education.