It is undoubtedly true that the pace of change in schools and colleges has led to a tremendous increase in the number of applicants for ill-health retirement.
Eddie McIntyre, principal of Birmingham College of Food, is quoted (TES, November 15) as saying: “The majority of ill-health retirees seem to make a miraculous recovery the day they are granted their pension”.
In my experience, as a regional official for NATFHE, the lecturers’ union, dealing with some 60 employers, this is generally not the case. It is sometimes the case where the illness is a psychological or emotional reaction to an unsympathetic or bullying management in an institution.
PAUL MACKNEY
NATFHE
54 Bradford Street
Birmingham