The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Course is not able to stem ‘brain drain’
Afast track Dundee University course designed to tackle teacher shortages in specialist areas has produced less than half of the total trainees sought, figures reveal.
The PGCE with supported induction route was launched in January 2018 and aimed to attract science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) graduates into teaching.
These graduates have consistently been underrecruited into the profession and the course integrates a PGCE with an induction programme, qualifying students to graduate into a career in teaching after one full year.
The programme blends student time between school placement and campus. A PGCE is a postgraduate certificate in education.
The Scottish Government had asked institutions for ideas to help tackle teacher shortages and backed initiatives with more than £1 million from the Scottish Government Attainment Scotland Fund.
Since the inaugural year of the course began in January 2018, there have been 115 places available to prospective students.
Of these, however, just 64 have been filled.
Even less have successfully completed the course and, as of March this year, only 45 students had either graduated or were still on the course.
This means that overall, less than 40% of the total number of students sought have successfully completed the course.
The figures were obtained through a freedom of information (FOI) request submitted to the university by the Courier.
Scottish Labour education spokesperson Michael Marra called for more to be done to attract people into teaching STEM subjects in Scotland.
He said: “In the last week alone two university principals have raised concerns with me over the lack of maths qualifications among Scottish school leavers and the need to drastically improve standards.
“These academic skills hold the key to tech jobs of the future and their absence means Scotland is missing out on tech jobs today.”
Dundee University attributed the lack of filled spaces on the course to varying applicant numbers but outlined that positive feedback had been given.
A spokesman said: “The University of Dundee offers secondary routes in subject areas where there is a recognised shortage in Scotland.
“Given the specialised nature of some of these subjects, applicant numbers will understandably vary.
“This alternative route, however, enables widening access into teaching for students who may be unable to access the fulltime programme, and feedback we have received from school mentors has indicated that these new teachers will be a real asset to the profession.”