Government urged to act on schools ‘crisis’
The Scottish Government has been warned it is presiding over a “crisis” in schools after it emerged the number of secondary teachers in key subjects has fallen significantly since the SNP came to power.
Liberal Democrat education spokesman Willie Rennie said it was “extremely troubling” to see declines in the number of teachers in maths, physics, computing and technical education. He called for action to end a“vicious cycle” he said was undermining recruitment and retention, including a lack of stable contracts.
Recent statistics reveal there were now 1,067 fewer full-time equivalent teachers in all subjects and specialisms in Scotland than there were in 2007, as well as 273 fewer schools. The numbers have been shrinking despite the overall pupil roll rising by more than 13,000 youngsters in the same period.
Now the Scottish Lib Dems have highlighted a downturn in the number of teachers for STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) subjects, which are viewed as vital for the economy.
Analysis of the figures found the number of computing studies teachers in secondary schools has fallen by a quarter from 766 in 2008 to 578 in 2023. The number of maths teachers was down by nearly 12 per cent in the period, there was an 11 per cent decline in technical education, and an 8 percent decrease in physics teachers. Mr Rennie said: “It’s extremely troubling to see such a sharp decline in STEM subject teachers.
“These subjects open the doors to industries of the future but with so few teachers now specialising in them and no sign of action to encourage more teachers into the workforce, the SNP are creating a vicious cycle that diminishes the skills of future generations and undermines teacher recruitment for years to come.
“Scottish Liberal Democrats want to end this crisis, and that’ s why we would bring back principal teachers for every STEM subject, giving young people better access to these subjects, and guarantee teachers stable contracts they can depend on.”
The SNP pledged to recruit 3,500 additional teachers and classroom assistant sin 2021 but the overall numbers have now fallen in the last two years.
Education Secretary Jenny Gilruth announced in December that maths would be a “central focus” of a revamped curriculum, with the work to be led by a maths specialist. It followed widespread concern at the long-term decline in Scotland’s performance in maths, science and reading in the OECD’S Pisa rankings.
Despite the reduction in some STEM subjects, the figures also show that there was a 16 per cent increase in the number of biology teachers in the period, and a 9 per cent rise in general science. The number of chemistry teachers was the same, at 989. Overall, there had been a 3.65 per cent reduction in the number of-full-time equivalent secondary teachers between 2008 and 2023.
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “Local authorities are responsible for the recruitment and deployment of teaching staff. The Scottish Government will continue to support them to maximise the number of jobs available in certain subjects, including STEM.”
The SNP are creating a vicious cycle Willie Rennie