Rennie urges SNP to repair STEM teacher crisis

Scottish Liberal Democrat education spokesperson Willie Rennie MSP has today urged ministers to repair the crisis in STEM teaching as new figures revealed that there has been a sharp decline in the number of Maths, Physics, Computing and Technical Education teachers since the SNP came to power.

Supplementary Statistics for Schools, produced by the Scottish Government and analysed by the Scottish Liberal Democrats, reveal that there are now:

• 363 fewer Maths teachers, a 13.0% decrease from 2008, with 32 maths teachers lost in the last year alone.
• 91 fewer Physics teachers, a 10.3% decrease from 2008, with 18 fewer Physics teachers in the last year alone.
• 216 fewer Computing Studies teachers, a 28.2% decrease from 2008, with 28 fewer in the last year alone.
• 180 fewer Technical Education teachers, a 13.4% decrease from 2008.
• The analysis comes on the heels of statistics released last week which showed:
• The number of post-induction scheme teachers finding full-time permanent contracts has fallen by more than half in the last seven years.
• In 2016/17, 56.5% of post-induction scheme teachers found full-time permanent employment, but that has now dropped to just 24.9% in 2023/24.

Mr Rennie said:

“The teaching of science, technology, engineering and maths in our schools is integral to Scotland’s economic future. To construction, defence, AI, renewables - you name it.

“Now pupils are going to miss out on hundreds of teachers, desperately needed to inspire them, lift attainment and propel them on towards high-skill high-pay jobs. This means there is a vicious cycle that diminishes the skills of future generations and undermines teacher recruitment for years to come.

 “Salaries outside teaching, including in industry, are much higher and without the stress of managing classes.

“We need to introduce more incentives to attract suitable people including those who are later on in their careers and want to contribute to the next generation. It requires a concerted effort from government and councils to make this happen."