LONDON, Dec. 28 (UPI) -- British Conservatives said teachers there are quitting schools at double rates in the 1990s.
"I fear that a combination of classroom bureaucracy, government micro-management and poor discipline in too many schools has encouraged a drift away from teaching," Shadow Children's Secretary Michael Gove told The Times of London.
Some 95,500 people left teaching jobs from 2000-2005, compared to 40,600 in the previous five years, the paper said.
Others say such figures are misleading and politically motivated -- studies indicate teachers are far happier with their jobs now than in the past and the figures don't account for teachers returning to jobs after short breaks, The Times said.
"The figures released do not take account of the fact that up to 30,000 teachers return to teaching at a later date, with added industry experience and a new enthusiasm for teaching and learning," a spokesman for the Training and Development Agency for Schools told The Times. "Many also choose to remain within the education sector in an administration capacity."
