Teachers taken 'from bottom ranks'

Students with weaker university entry rankings are being accepted into teaching courses, a Senate committee has heard.

The federal government's teacher education body made the admission during questioning in an estimates hearing in Canberra on Wednesday, when Labor senator Kim Carr demanded to know if "weaker students" were taking up teaching.

"There are increasing numbers being taken in from lower end of the ATAR (Australian Tertiary Admission Rank) bands than there are at the upper ends," Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership chief executive Margery Evans said.