Over the last week the Scottish Parliament has been debating the expansion of Vocational and Technical Qualifications in Scotland, which the Scottish Government argues has expanded educational horizons for those in secondary schools. However, Stephen Kerr, shadow secretary for Education and Skills used the debate to hold to Scottish Government accountable for the continuing decline of teachers for STEM subjects (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths), which has been visible for the past decade. The consequence of these falling teacher numbers has in effect to negate the expansion of choice for secondary school learners, limiting the subjects they can take through no fault of their own.
The problem of teacher shortages for STEM subjects has been present in Scotland throughout the SNP’s governance of the nation. In 2017 it was reported that there were 800 fewer teachers than there were in 2010, with STEM teachers leaving at a rate of 2 during that period. Now, six years later, these problems continue. 40 percent of places on one-year PGDE (Professional Graduate Diploma in Education) went unfilled in the 2022-23 year, affecting the STEM subjects of Chemistry, Maths and Computing the most. Despite the Scottish Government offering bursaries to encourage more new teachers, over half of these bursaries are currently unused. This suggests that the shortage of teachers is not a problem the Scottish Government can throw money at, and that deeper changes to the educational system may be necessary.
In the amendment submitted by Stephen Kerr, he noted the “negative consequences for young people from curriculum narrowing in relation to attainment, transitions, the subsequent study in school and destinations beyond school” which the shortage of teachers for STEM subjects had exacerbated. After a decade of similar words being said by opposition parties, it is increasingly clear that the Scottish Government are unable to properly address the problem of teacher shortages in secondary schools, with the negative consequences being most strongly felt by the future generation of children.