§ Mrs. Renée Shortasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will introduce proposals to improve the low morale of teachers which was noted in the recent Her Majesty's Inspectors of Schools report.
§ Dr. BoysonMy right hon. Friend recognises the problems arising for teachers and their employers from falling pupil rolls and from the restricting of public expenditure to a level which the nation can afford. But some improvements in standards of provision continue to be made, not least in the overall pupil-to-teacher ratio. My right hon. Friend is concerned to make teachers more effective in their work. To this end he has provided more money for in-service training, and will in due course announce how he intends to improve the selection of students for initial training as teachers and the initial training courses provided for them.