Teachers right to reject insult
■ TEACHERS have the huge responsibility of educating this country’s future generations. They need to be fully appreciated for the amount of work they put in with many doing 60-hour weeks due to their excessive workload.
They also have to cope with the burden of teaching class sizes of 30 pupils or more.
Continuing strike action can only have an adverse effect on children, especially as exams approach – so the Government needs to put a fresh offer on the table sooner rather than later. Jenny Pain, Chatham, Kent
■ I fully support our teachers who have voted for more strikes.
It’s insulting for the Government to insist pay rises must be funded from existing education budgets already stretched to the limit.
School buildings are crumbling, class sizes are too big and teachers are leaving the profession in droves because of all the extra hours they are expected to put in.
The problem is the Tories don’t care about state education because their offspring go to private schools. What an utter disgrace they are. Our teachers – and the whole country – deserve so much better. Les Jones, Stockport
■ The teachers’ strikes are not only about pay but the increased workload and pressure on staff.
I am passionate about making people aware of the ridiculous expectations placed on state schools and the utter nonsense of Ofsted.
It is a big part of the reason I left my outstanding school, which I took out of special measures, and retired early.
I couldn’t face the stress of another inspection having witnessed what happened to the schools I was supporting. Sue Harte, Tunbridge Wells, Kent
■ Anyone who doesn’t support our teachers forced into taking strike action needs to understand that they work very long hours and don’t really get a break.
I challenge anyone to try a single day in a school setting and see how they feel at the end of it.
As someone who has worked in schools for years, people need to realise how hard our teachers work and get behind them. Name and address supplied
■ Rishi Sunak said it is “extremely disappointing” that teachers are going on strike. Yes, it is and even more disappointing that successive governments have shown teachers that they are not worthy of decent inflation-linked pay rises while ensuring MPs’ pay and pensions are increased and protected as a matter of course when required. Diane Silva, Bournemouth
■ While I sympathise with teachers asking for more money, has it not occurred to them they get around 12 weeks holiday a year, far more than the average worker?
Our pensions increase of 10% has been decimated by hikes in council tax, utility bills, phone and broadband charges. It’s not as if pensioners can go on strike. Under the Tories this country of ours can no longer be called great. David King, Peterborough, Cambs
■ Teachers need to get a grip. Any more strike days will seriously affect students preparing for vital GCSE and A-level exams.
These children have already had their education badly disrupted by Covid and now face even more disruption thanks to the teachers. I accept that teachers do a difficult job and deserve fair pay but striking is not the answer. Claire McManus, Essex