Gates pleads the case for good teachers

Billionaire US software magnate Bill Gates warned this week that the Government's plans for a computer-based National Grid for Learning would be fruitless unless teachers were given proper training in information technology.

Speaking at Cambridge University, following a breakfast meeting with Prime Minister Tony Blair this week, Mr Gates, chairman of Microsoft, endorsed the Government's Pounds 100 million pledge for computers in schools. But he also confirmed Microsoft's own plan to set up a teacher resource centre, an on-line teacher training network, in collaboration with BT and RM plc. "Technology can't be a substitute for a good teacher," he said. "It is just a tool in the hands of teachers."