English schools have been wailing for increased school funding for a long time now. The average class strength in 2010 was 31, which has now risen by almost 30% to 39. The students to teacher ratio (number of students assigned per teacher) in schools has shown a massive increase in the past 9 years.
The above stat stands for more than a million students across the country. According to a report by the National Education Union, there are more than 20,000 students right now that are in class with more than 36 students. According to the joint-secretary of the National Education Union, Mary Bousted, the school funding crisis of the schools is to blame for such abysmal reports.
The story is similar for almost 90% of the constituencies in England. Since 2010, the class sizes have increased steadily. Only 59 constituencies showed a decline in their class sizes.
According to a statement released last month by the Department of Education, the average student strength in class has remained stable. Yet the actual data paints a completely different picture.
Poor school funding igniting the problem
One of the most astonishing facts that came out was that the number of secondary students sitting in a class of 36 or more has seen a rise of 258% in the past decade. The teachers have often demanded to reduce the size of the batch so that they can focus more on every single student.
It is basic maths, if the school funding becomes an issue, the schools are forced to hire fewer teachers and to accommodate as many students as possible in a single class.
Although the current government has promised to improve and increase the school funding, the issue still remains untouched by the government. In another study, among the developed nations of the world, Britain stands at the top of the list of the average number of students attending a class.
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