NOBODY has a job for life these days - and that includes teachers.

Our story tonight about the six Bolton teachers who left their jobs after being told to do better or face the sack illustrates this.

Outside education, incompetent workers have always faced the threat of dismissal if their work did not come up to scratch.

But too often incompetent teachers have been "carried" by their colleagues. Now they are in the real world like the rest of us and that is right.

We believe that most teachers are dedicated professionals who do an often difficult job well.

The few who are not up to standard should be weeded out. Educating our children is an important job and teachers must be seen to be up to the highest standards.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.