EXCESSIVE working hours must be discouraged. Rarely can anyone be at their best in their job at the end of a 12-hour day.

We have sympathy with any employee seeking to strike a better balance between work and family life.

Teachers are entitled to a fair deal as much as anyone else.

While it is true that they are entitled to 13 weeks holiday a year, this overlooks the fact that dedicated teachers work over and above normal school hours, and often work at weekends and during their holidays.

It is clear that the issue of teachers' working hours needs to be addressed.

But the demands from the teaching unions for a maximum working week of 35 hours and a limit on time spent in the classroom are preposterous.

The prospect of teachers clocking on and clocking off must not be entertained.

Teaching ought to be a profession and a vocation. Teachers must be prepared to work outside standard hours where necessary.

The education of our children is too important to be bound by such rigid restrictions.

We welcome, therefore, the rejection by the School Teachers Review Body of a legal cap on hours.

The body's recommendation to reduce the average working week to 45 hours within four years is sensible.

It will also be a feasible target if the Government calls a halt to successive waves of reform which have added to the burden of bureaucracy and administration on the teaching profession.

It is high time teachers were given the opportunity to concentrate more on teaching, instead of being kept away from the classroom to tackle a mountain of paperwork.

We appeal to the Government to adopt such a practical stance, which will hopefully achieve a better working environment for teachers and, at the same time, a better education for children.

But we also appeal to teachers to recognise the pragmatic approach adopted by the School Teachers Review Body and to drop the threat of industrial action in pursuit of a 35-hour week