Mrs. Hillasked the Minister of Education what is the cost of training a woman teacher; and what is the average length of service after training given by her up to the age of 25 years and between 25 and 30 years, respectively.
§ Sir E. BoyleA three-year course for a woman student at a teachers' training college at present costs about £2,000.
On the evidence of the wastage figures for 1960–1, the last year for which a detailed analysis is available, the average length of service to be expected from a two-year trained non-graduate woman teacher entering a school at the age of 21 would be 3.2 years by the age of 25, with a further 1.8 years between the ages of 25 and 30.
From next September, the great majority of new women teachers will be aged 22, having trained for three years. Thus, while at present it is reckoned that 57 out of each 100 women will still be teaching after four years' service and 21 after nine years, the corresponding figures for later in the decade show a reduction to 47 after four years' service and 19 after nine years.