HC Deb 10 July 1990 vol 176 cc180-1W
31. Mr. Favell

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is the pupil-teacher ratio in England and Wales; and what information he has on the figure for Japan.

Mr. Alan Howarth

The readily available information for the United Kingdom, upon which international comparisons are usually made, and Japan, is as follows:

Pupil/teacher ratios by level, 1985–86
Japan UK1
Up to 1st level (nursery and primary) 22.42 22.03
2nd level (secondary and further education) 19.1 14.234
1 The overall ratio for public sector schools in England decreased from 18.9 in 1978–89 to 17.0 in 1987–88. The corresponding ratios for

Wales are 19.3 and 18.6. Government policy has been to allow teacher numbers to fall at a slower rate than pupil numbers.
2 Partly estimated.
3 Public sector.
4 The UK figure for secondary schools only is 15.7.