Unless urgent action was taken by Mrs Shirley Williams, the whole future of religious education would be placed in jeopardy, Mr Norman St JohnStevas said this week.
Speaking at the Conservative Education Conference on Values at Manchester on Monday, Mr St John-Stevas called on the Department of Education and Science to consult every local authority and college of education and so produce "an authoritative national survey." This should be followed by a "crash remedial programme in initial in-service training."
He attacked recent ministerial statements saying there was no shortage of RE teachers. "There is undoubtedly a 'hidden shortage' of RE teachers, which has so far eluded ministerial eyes," he said.
RE in any recognisable form had disappeared in far too many of our primary schools, due to lack of proper training.