Government Reveals Drastic Rise in Teachers and Education Professionals

The Labour Party has spent the last ten years in control of the British government touting their investment in education at all levels. In testimony to Parliament this week, former Education Secretary David Blunkett came armed with proof that this investment has paid off. Blunkett’s evidence to questioning MPs came in the form of increased jobs within the educational system throughout Great Britain, which he deemed a great story and example of how educational investment benefits everyone in the nation.

Blunkett, who ran the Education Department from 1997 to 2001, gave some impressive numbers in defense of Labour’s decade of investment in education. One of the most drastic increases in educational employment in Great Britain came in the area of full-time teachers of all subjects throughout the public schooling system. In 1997, at the start of his time in office, there were 399,200 full-time teachers. According to current Education statistics, that number has increased to 435,600 in 2006, an increase of just over 36,000 jobs.

While teaching positions are the frontlines of the classroom experience, Blunkett was quick to point out that educational support positions were raising at a higher rate than those of teachers. At the beginning of Blunkett’s tenure in Education, there were 133,480 support positions in British schools. By the end of 2006, there were a total of 287,530 support workers in British schools. This increase in support workers comes with a spreading of the educational apparatus. The rise of special needs and ethnic education departments throughout the nation has meant a need for support personnel. As well, the investment in newer school buildings and extracurricular programs has meant the need for technical and custodial staff to maintain these structures. The additional 155,000 teaching support professionals over the last ten years have been touted as an investment in the educational system’s future.

Blunkett’s testimony to the general Parliament has acted as a defense of the Blair Administration’s policies toward education in Great Britain. Opponents and disgruntled Labour Party members alike have criticized educational investment at various points as being misguided, overly ambitious, or insufficient for educational needs. However, Blunkett seems to have answered some of these critics and provided cover fire for the outgoing Blair Administration. The numbers have shown that pupils in the British educational system are getting the support they need on a daily basis, while education professionals are getting the jobs they need to make a living.