The union was responding to Government statistics that showed the total number of full-time equivalent teachers had risen to 427,800 - 28,600 more than when Labour came to power in 1997 - and that the number of teaching assistants had more than doubled since 1997. There are now 241,700 support staff, including teaching assistants and administrative staff.
However, NUT general secretary Doug McAvoy said the figures 'concealed some disturbing facts' and were 'being spun as a success story'. He added, 'The Government's decision to allow teacher numbers in primary and nursery to decline bodes ill for the future.
'Instead of taking advantage of falling rolls to reduce class sizes in primary, there will be schools facing decreased budgets and redundancies.'
The statistics showed a 'small decrease' in the number of primary school teachers because pupil numbers were falling, with 53,100 fewer last year.
But in a thinly-veiled attack on the NUT, education secretary Charles Clarke said, 'The continuing increase in teacher numbers alongside the increase in support staff nails the lie that workforce reform is replacing teachers.'
This view was echoed by the NASUWT, whose leader, Eamonn O'Kane, said the figures would 'reassure teachers that support staff are complementing the role of teachers, not being used as a substitute for them as erroneously claimed by some'.
The statistics showed the growth in teacher numbers included 1,800 more teachers with qualified teacher status, 1,800 more people on employment-based routes to qualified status, most of them graduates, and a slowdown in the rise of teachers trained overseas. Mr McAvoy said the fact that unqualified teachers were counted in the figures meant 'the Government will not hit its target of 10,000 more qualified teachers by the end of this Parliament'.
The figures were based on the findings of the annual survey of teachers in service and teacher vacancies, and the annual schools census, both of which take place on the third Thursday in January each year.