The government wants more young people from the ethnic minorities to go into teaching. Education Reporter Lyn Barton, looks at the picture in Bradford and how one local scheme is seeking to redress the balance.

MUDDASAR HUSSAIN is 17 and wants to be a teacher. But he is the exception rather than the rule in the Asian community.

"People just don't really think about going into teaching. They are not interested," said Muddasar.

"They want to go into business or be doctors. They don't really want to be teachers."

Muddasar is a sixth-former at Belle Vue Boys School which has decided to set up a pioneering scheme to redress that feeling.

A group of half-a-dozen sixth-formers has been found work placements at feeder primary schools where they can have a taste of life as a teacher.

Muddasar and his 18-year-old classmate Asif Yaqoob are spending time at Margaret McMillan Primary School.

Atlas Primary and Springwood Primary are also taking part in the pilot scheme.

After two days spent shadowing teachers and working with pupils, both are enthusiastic about the career path.

"It's been good working at the school and teaching is something I am very interested in doing when I leave school," said Asif.

Bruce Berry, head teacher of Belle Vue Boys, believes that one of the main reasons young Asian people are not going into teaching is simply a lack of role models.

"Asian pupils are not seeing many Asian teachers themselves when they go through school."

The fact that there is not a culture of people from the community going into teaching, does not help, said Mr Berry.

In Britain today there are roughly 500,000 teachers in post. It is estimated that less than three per cent are from the ethnic minorities.

In Bradford the picture is more encouraging with 6.4 per cent of the teaching workforce drawn from ethnic communities.

But as a reflection of a local population where around 20 per cent are from minority groups, it is still a poor representation.

More and more teachers are being recruited from the ethnic ranks, according to the latest figures.

And it is an issue which the government is determined to address.

A spokesman for the DFEE said it was vital to increase the number of teachers drawn from ethnic minorities .

The Stephen Lawrence enquiry pinpointed the need for positive role models for the communities in the classrooms.

"The under-representation of ethnic minority teaching staff continues to be a worry," said the spokesman.

At present about six per cent of recruits to teacher training are from the ethnic minorities.

The Teacher Training Agency is actively working to ensure that teacher training providers are recruiting more ethnic minority students.

National targets have been set to get more ethnic teachers into school.

l By 2000-2001, 7 per cent.

l By 2001-2002, 7.55 per cent.

l By 2005-2006, 9 per cent.

The spokesman said it was hoped that the number of ethnic minority teachers would be boosted by 50 per cent.

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