Teacher training applications fall

Estelle Morris announced the "can teach" recruitment drive

The number of people applying to train as teachers at universities and colleges across the UK is falling, statistics reveal.

Figures from the Graduate Teacher Training Registry show the flow of applications for PGCE (post graduate certificate in education) courses, starting in the autumn, was down 16.1% on the previous year.

These figures represent a very worrying picture for the future of teacher recruitment

Secondary Heads Association

In January 2001 there were 1,481 fewer applications for primary training places, 52 fewer for middle schools and 756 fewer for secondary training - 2,289 in all - than in January 2000.

And that decline has almost doubled in just four weeks - in December last year, applications were just 1,065 short on the previous year.

The fall follows a £7m government campaign - sporting the slogan "Those who can, teach" - launched in October last year to address the crisis in teacher numbers.

Recruitment 'cycle'

But the Department for Education said it was too early to draw any conclusions from the registry's latest figures.

"The recruitment cycle is from September to September and recruitment tends to go up later in the year," a spokesman for the Dfee said.

There were many other ways into teaching, besides the graduate route, he stressed.

"We have increased the number of teachers in post over the past two years by 7,000 and have increased teacher recruitment by 9% in the last year - including increases in shortage subjects," he added.

The government's advertising campaign had prompted 1,200 inquiries to the Teacher Training Agency last Tuesday alone, the spokesman claimed.

Four-day week fear

But teachers' unions said the statistics proved the situation was critical and could lead to the introduction of a four-day week in many schools.

On Wednesday it emerged that Essex education authority had written to the Education Secretary, David Blunkett, raising its concerns.

As teacher recruitment reached crisis point, ministers buried their heads in the sand and hoped for the best

Phil Willis, Liberal Democrats

National Association of Head Teachers general secretary, David Hart, said all the indicators were "going in the wrong direction".

John Dunford, general secretary of the Secondary Heads Association, said the trend was clear.

"These figures represent a very worrying picture for the future of teacher recruitment and suggest that the crisis is likely to get much worse before it gets better."

The shadow education secretary, Theresa May, said the figures indicated Labour had failed to address fundamental problems facing the profession.

"That is about workload and stress - as long as teachers are leaving because they feel the bureaucracy is too great and they are overworked then it is not going to be an attractive profession for people to go into," she said.

'Too late'

Phil Willis MP, Liberal Democrat shadow education secretary, said the government had done "too little too late".

"As teacher recruitment reached crisis point, ministers buried their heads in the sand and hoped for the best.

"Today's figures show a 16% drop in graduates applying for teacher training compared with a year ago and before training grants were announced," he said.

Mr Willis was due to tell the north of England education conference in Bridlington that trainee teachers should be paid a full salary of £15,141.

Such a scheme would be attractive to young post graduates saddled with debts from university, he added.