§ Mr. Spriggsasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether applications for teacher training places are up or down in the current year; and whether the National Union of Teachers and other teachers' unions have approached her about the possible failure to recruit 10.000 students for the current year.
§ Mr. OakesIn mid-January, the number of applications from non-graduates for admission to courses of initial teacher training in 1978 was some 28 per cent. below the number at the same time last year, compared with a reduction in colleges' aggregate target intakes of about 17 per cent. 'The annual target intakes are, however, intended only as a guide to institutions in planning for the desired output of newly trained teachers. Actual intakes to the first year of teacher training courses are likely increasingly to fall short of the notional targets, to allow for the transfer of students from the growing number of common first year and DipHE courses into the second or third year of a teacher training course.
My right hon. Friend has had no approach from teachers' unions about the possibility of a shortfall in recruitment in the current year.