§ Mr. Gerald Bowdenasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many teachers were employed by local education authorities in England in January; and what is his estimate of the pupil-teacher ratio.
§ Mr. Kenneth BakerIn January 1986 local education authorities in England employed the full-time equivalent of 402,900 teachers for service in nursery, primary and secondary schools. On the basis of estimated pupil numbers, the overall ratio of pupils to teachers is now at its best ever level of 17.6:1. This is a significant improvement on the 1979 ratio of 18.9:1.