600,000 kids are schooled by untrained

MORE than 600,000 pupils are being taught by unqualified teachers.

Official figures show the number of untrained staff rose from 14,800 in 2012 to 24,000 last year – an increase of 62%.

Rules were relaxed as teachers quit over cuts and low pay and heads no longer have to consider a qualified teacher first when appointing staff.

Of 117,000 teachers who trained between 2011 and 2015, 27,500 have left.

Shadow Schools Minister Mike Kane said: “The Government are clearly relying on unqualified teachers to plug the gaps. It’s our children who will pay for their failure.”