I learned very recently of a situation I find most disturbing.

The head teacher of a special-needs school in Brighton was holding interviews for the position of classroom assistant. The responsibilities are heavy. The care and demands of special needs children incur more diligence and stress than most could cope with.

The applicants for the position were all university graduates. The position pays a salary of £9,500 per year. I know teachers get 14 weeks' paid holiday, but to offer a salary that is truly derisory cannot be right. It is not up to the head teacher to offer more, it is not within the head teacher's remit. It is the system that is wrong.

The Government is actively trying to encourage more teachers into the system of education, but how can a graduate service a student loan on a salary of £9,500? Are we really showing respect to those who look after children?

All children deserve our care. Our teachers carry a burden of responsibility that determines the wellbeing of our future. I was astonished to learn there was a queue of applicants and that the whole day was taken up carrying out the interviews.

The dedication of these special people allows the abusively paltry salaries on offer to continue.

As a caring citizen, I protest. I am not someone within "the system", I am not a teacher, I am not a nurse, I am not a policeman. I am not even a political activist, just an ordinary member of society who believes there is a moral sickness that needs curing.

We must stop wasting taxpayers' money on bureaucracy and apply serious funds to augment the salaries of those who directly care for the needs of us all.

I would urge a press campaign that I believe would reflect the honest majority view. It should not become a political debate but a moral issue. We must press our leaders to right this very serious wrong.

* David Hawker, Director of Education at Brighton and Hove Council, replies:

It is true the pay of classroom assistants is scandalously low. This harks back to the time when classroom assistants were employed mainly to do menial tasks like cleaning out paint pots and tidying up the classroom. However, those days are long gone.

-Nowadays, most classroom assistants are highly skilled and well qualified and many schools could not do without them. Most classroom assistants work with individual children or small groups on tailored learning programmes. For that they get specialist training. I would like to see a salary scale which recognises the important role they play, which rewards skill, experience and training and which encourages career progression. This is a national issue and we hope the Government will address it, both with a salary review and with the funding for local authorities to pay for it.