While Michael Gove is making plans to move teacher training out of universities and into schools, he should reflect on the fact that in many other European countries - particularly those that outperform the UK on Pisa scores - teachers already spend far more time studying than they do here.
In Denmark it takes five years to become a teacher and in the Netherlands it takes four. Secondary school teachers in Germany spend four and a half years at university plus a further two and a half in a school setting. All teachers in Finland are required to do a two-year masters degree in education.
At a time when the Government is professing its commitment to raising standards of teaching, this does not seem a wise move.
Fiona Carnie, Vice-president, European Forum for Freedom in Education, Germany, www.effe-eu.org.
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