A UNION chief today claimed that droves of disillusioned teachers across East Lancashire were turning their backs on the profession.

NUT spokesman Simon Jones, said morale was 'very low' and will be made worse if the Government decides to introduce performance-related pay.

And he said action needed to be taken quickly to prevent a major shortage of staff in the area's schools.

Mr Jones, who represents Lancashire on the NUT National Executive committee, said: "Morale among teachers is at a very low level.

"I know of a teacher who is now training to be a midwife and another who has gone abroad to work in a bar rather than stay in teaching.

"Many are actively looking for careers outside teaching. The Government and the local authority must take positive steps to value teachers properly before the existing shortage reaches crisis proportions."

He added: "Introducing performance-related pay, however sophisticated, is a thoroughly old fashioned disaster. It will lead to arbitrary rewards for the few in exchange for demoralising the many. "It is the Government and not teachers which thinks it can get something for rewarding only a section of the profession. The NUT has led calls for a new structure to be based on recognition of teaching experience and professional development.

"Such a system must be fair, equitable and understandable. It should properly reward teachers - not just the few, or even the many, but all teachers."

Peter Morgan, assistant director of education at Blackburn with Darwen Council, said: "We recognise the demands placed upon teachers nationally in the drive to raise standards. And we also recognise that, nationally, recruitment levels are not at the level we would like.

"But locally we are doing our best to promote the profession and support teachers in the good work they do."

Lancashire County Council education and cultural services committee chairman Coun Hazel Harding, said: "Under the last government, all of the ills of society seemed to be placed on the shoulders of teachers.

"In Lancashire we like to think we support teachers and the feedback I get from them is that this is the case.

"But there can be little doubt that, in terms of pay, teachers have fallen behind other professions and I would like to see some of the new money which is coming into education going directly into tackling that problem and making teaching more attractive."

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