Just 28 qualify through Troops to Teachers

Only 28 ex-servicemen have retrained to become qualified teachers as part of the Troops to Teachers scheme.

The £4.3 million scheme was set up by former Education Secretary Michael Gove with the aim of attracting 2,000 ex-servicemen into the classroom.

Shadow Education Secretary Lucy Powell has criticised the low numbers produced from the scheme. She described the figures as an ‘embarrassment’ for the Conservative Party, claiming they highlighted that the government had failed to get a hold on the current teacher recruitment crisis.

Powell said: “This is more evidence in a series of failures by the Tory Government to get a hold on the teacher shortage crisis. Teacher recruitment continues to threaten standards under the Tories, and yet despite David Cameron’s personal commitment to the scheme, the government has only managed to get 28 veterans to qualify as teachers.

“I very much want to see more veterans re-training to become teachers as they have a huge amount to offer and we desperately need more good teachers. What’s clear is that, as with the government’s general slow response to teacher shortages, this scheme isn’t working because the government isn’t focusing on teacher recruitment. We urgently need a proper strategy for teacher recruitment including of veterans for whom this could make a great second career.”

Schools Minister Nick Gibb said a total of 551 applications had been received for the scheme since it started in 2014, with 41 applicants starting the programme in in its first year, of which 28 have received qualified teacher status.

The government has stressed that these figures only relate to the first round of trainees and that the scheme is set to grow.

A Department for Education spokesman said: "The 28 graduates referred to are the first trainees to be recruited and completed their two-year course at the end of December.

"A further two cohorts are being trained right now which means that more than 140 former troops are working in our classrooms and record numbers of eligible applicants have applied for the latest cohort."