Lib Dems call for specialist teachers

Lib Dem education spokesman Phil Willis attacked 'spin'

Every child in the UK should be taught only by qualified teachers specialising in their subjects, the Liberal Democrats say.

Education spokesman Phil Willis said trainee and supply staff were being used to uphold the government's claim it has taken on 25,000 teachers since 1997.

Speaking to the party's annual conference in Brighton, he added that 2,500 had lost their jobs because of the current schools funding crisis.

Mr Willis said: "New Labour promised education 'the most generous funding settlement since the war'.

''What gloss, what spin?'

"The reality? Teachers sacked. Schools with £500,000 budget deficits. Staff struggling to cope under the weight of targets and bureaucracy. Children tested to destruction."

He said: "Over 2,500 teachers and probably as many classroom assistants have lost their jobs. And what gloss, what spin, has the government put on this?

"It claims that since 1997 there are 25,000 more teachers.

"The reality? Many of these people are unqualified. This government counts instructors, overseas teachers, students in training, supply teachers.

"In fact, any adult stood in front of a class, is counted as a teacher.

"This is why the Liberal Democrats would make sure that we offer a guarantee to our pupils and parents - that every child is taught by a qualified teacher who is a specialist in his or her subject."

Mr Willis promised the Lib Dems would establish a "skills commission" to improve vocational education.

He said: "The world around us is changing rapidly. The things we take for granted today were science fiction only a decade or two ago.

"Computers, mobile phones, the microwave oven, MP3 players, the internet and e-mail, nanotechnology, digital photography - the list is endless.

"Our education system cannot remain stuck in some ideological time-warp that refuses to take account of the world around us."