Training drain leads to teacher shortage

January 28 2011

The number of people applying to become secondary schools teachers has reduced significantly in the last year, new figures show.

Figures acquired by the Times Educational Supplement show that there has been drop of roughly ten per cent in the number of students applying to become secondary teachers.

The number of people looking to do secondary courses is down by 9.3 per cent, according to the latest Graduate Teacher Training Registry statistics.

Furthermore, the newspaper reports that some subjects are seeing a fall of closer to 40 per cent.

Teachings uncertain outlook in the face of public spending cuts is discouraging applicants, some experts have suggested.

Although data on specific subjects cannot be revealed, the Times Educational Supplement is reporting that applications to mathematics courses have dropped 14 per cent, with science showing an 18 per cent decline.

John Howson, managing director of Education Data Surveys, predicts there will be a shortfall of teachers by September 2013 or 2014.

"Applications before the new year are from those really committed to teaching. Those who apply after that are much harder to capture, so we won’t get back those potential teachers…The government is sleepwalking into a crisis," he told the newspaper.

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