Out of 1,400 teachers who were given notice last week, over 700 redundancies are partly or completely attributable to budget problems, the BBC has found.

Ministers say the job losses are only in schools where pupil numbers are dropping but head teachers say that ministers are not confronting problems in schools.

How can the crisis be resolved now? Why has the cash flow become such a problem? Are you affected by the redundancies?

This debate is now closed. Read a selection of your comments below.

The following comments reflect the balance of views we have received:

Give the money direct to the schools John Smith, UK

The total amount of money being put into education in the UK works out as �6000 per year for each child at school. That's enough to send them all to a decent public school. It's not the amount of cash, it's what we do with it that's wrong. Too many different bodies each slicing it up (and soaking up a chunk in pay and expenses) before it gets to the schools. The answer is to cut out the LEAs, councils, funding bodies, special targets, task forces etc etc and give the money direct to the schools. I'm sure every headteacher in Britain would know exactly what to do if we gave them twice their current funds!!
John Smith, UK

In Scotland many of our rural schools, including my village's local school is under threat of closure. When questioned, Dumfries and Galloway council stated that the reason (and this is the only reason they can provide) the school is earmarked for closure is that the buildings do not meet appropriate standards. However, the council was recently given �5.5 million in February 2003 by the Scottish Executive specifically for school building improvements. The school needless to say has not been offered any of the money or invited to bid for it.
Tricia Bryant, UK

Our allocated budget is lower in cash terms than last year Allan Warrington, UK

The government has clearly miscalculated the amount of cash required to fund the standard teacher's pay increase (about 3.5%), the rise in employers' pension contributions and NICS (6%) and also London weighting increases (1-2%). I am a governor of a large primary school in the London borough of Bromley and our allocated budget is lower in cash terms than last year. The head does a very good job in managing his budget, but this year we, along with the other 3 "large" primary schools in Bromley have sent our budgets back to the council.
Allan Warrington, UK

How is it that over the past few years we have been hit with expensive advertising campaigns encouraging us to take up teaching as a worthwhile career, when now we learn that up to 1400 teachers are to lose their jobs? Who in their right minds is going to make a career change into a sector that is laying off so many skilled and experienced professionals?
John H, UK

I live in California, and 50% of our state budget goes for education. Yet we rank near the bottom of all 50 states in the US in quality education and test scores. In my family last year we made the decision to cut back on personal expenses and put our daughter in a private school. Her grades have improved tremendously. By most standards around the world we are considered a wealthy country, yet our priorities are appalling. Someday it will come back and haunt us.
Chuck, USA

We all know that schools are expensive to run but my local authority obviously doesn't. When planning each year what to spend their (our) money on instead of schools we are getting 'works of art' on each road island. Wonderful, why waste money on twisted bits of scrap metal or mosaic fishes on poles, at a cost of hundreds of thousands of pounds? This money could provide a lot of teachers and equipment. I know what I prefer.
Garry Smith, UK

I am ashamed that I wasted my time canvassing Ben Mills, UK

After 30 years of support for the Labour party I am ashamed that I wasted my time canvassing for a brighter future because the fact is that Labour have done just as much damage to our children's' future than any ruling party in the past 30 years and I cannot believe how dreadful it has become.
Ben Mills, UK

This is just yet another reason why we should privatise the schools. Why does anyone anymore expect this government, or any other government, to anything right? At least if they were run by private companies, we could choose the schools that know how to get the job done correctly and affordably. Under a nationalised system we'll never know if there is a better way to teach, train teachers, build better schools, or anything else.
David, London

Hmmmm...seems there is always money for war, no matter what the cost and yet never enough for the people (schools, etc). That's the way it always comes down in our free societies.
Tom, USA

When I was first in teaching all this was done by the local education authority Andy, Malaysia

I was head of a large comprehensive for a number of years before retirement two years ago. It was apparent then and even more so now that the problem lies not with underfunding but overspending by unskilled administrators (e.g. me). A classic example of this was when it was decided to give all the local schools their own budgets for the purchase of text books, stationery etc. What this meant in reality that was that the purchasing power of the individual schools was nowhere near that of a group of schools thereby losing substantial discounts. When I was first in teaching all this was done by the local education authority but because of the 'political' requirement (Tory local council in my particular area) to be seen to be doing something, costs per pupil increased by nearly 25% over three years.
Andy, Malaysia

If one or two local councils had held back money then you could understand the government's arguments, but to argue that virtually all local councils have acted in the same way suggests the problem lies at the centre.
Mark Johnson, UK

My partner works as a history teacher and admits the school wastes thousands on agency staff and then recruits newly qualified teachers because it saves money.
T Newman, UK

The government should own up - they have made a mistake and should put it right Peter Lucas, UK

How is it that when taxation is at its highest, the education system is running out of cash? This country is becoming the third world.
Jon Mc, UK

Our kids are now amongst the most highly pressurised and poorly educated anywhere in the EU. This is down to lack of management skills and excessive ideology and dogma at the highest level and lack of management training at all levels down to head and deputy head level.
John Andrews, London

As a long-term Labour voter I am completely mystified as to why the government cannot step in and resolve this issue completely. If money has not reached the schools then the system is not working and should be fixed.
Andrew Mercer, UK

The government of now should be doing everything they can so schools have everything they need to produce our future Nikki, Britain

Financial resources should go directly from the exchequer to individual schools, thus avoiding the overheads of unnecessary tiers of administration and inefficiency. Each school could have one administrator to assist the head teacher in managing the budget and other non-educational issues, thus leaving all teachers free to teach.
JohnM, LyneMeads, UK

I am a chartered accountant and also a governor of an excellent school that is very successful and is always oversubscribed. The reason we have a funding crisis is a lack of money from the government and nothing to do with falling numbers. The government should own up - they have made a mistake and should put it right.
Peter Lucas, UK

The government says it is pouring record amounts of money into schools, yet for the first time in my 27 year life, teachers are being made redundant. Someone, somewhere is either lying, or is guilty of inefficiency of the order that beggars belief. It's a disgusting state of affairs.
Dan, UK

It seems clear that the government carries out no proper financial modelling of its education funding decisions. Any business run that way would soon replace its board of directors.
Ken Dunn, England

I have been told that I am now too expensive to employ and schools are looking for people with less experience Diana Pilborough, England

Not exactly surprising bearing in mind the UK has an elected government that has consistently failed to keep any promises and does more or less what it likes, even if it is against the public's opinion and interests.
Chris Clifford, Switzerland

Teachers deserve a reasonable salary, they are educating the country's future, and without education we will have no future.
Mrs Burns, England

I am a teacher with 32 years experience and since moving to Gloucestershire I have only been able to work on fixed term contracts. As a senior manager, post-threshold teacher I have been told that I am now too expensive to employ and schools are looking for people with less experience, who are of course relatively cheaper. This is not only demoralising but very frustrating to have worked hard all these years to be told I am now virtually unemployable.
Diana Pilborough, England

Maybe if the government cut back on advertising for teachers it could afford to pay for more of them.
Chris, UK

Whilst cash flow may be a problem for a lot of schools, haven't we seen from the NHS that just pumping in funds barely resolves any problems?
Adrian, England

Schools should have latest text books, latest computers etc, but because of the British middle classes aversion to actually paying for something, taxes are too low and thus schools are neglected. Added to this is the government's desperation to throw money at white elephants like British Nuclear Fuel and the rail operators while cutting school budgets.
Vish, UK

Anyone remember that great speech? "Education education, education..."
Paul, England

Our children in school now are our future. They are the ones who will be the government in 20+ years. Teachers should not be getting redundancy notices. The government of now should be doing everything they can so schools have everything they need to produce our future.
Nikki, Britain