YOUR article on the current problems in Scottish teacher recruitment should make those with influence over the General Teaching Council of Scotland (GTCS) plan much more flexibly in recognising people with the potential to meet their professional standards of fitness to teach (“Teacher recruitment crisis could force schools to use nursery staff”, The Herald, July 14).
When the decision was taken to “up the ante” and demand that all entrants to the profession had firstly gained a university degree there were a number of arguments put forward to support this development. However, I am certain that the production of sound evidence we would attract a more effective classroom teacher was not among them. One supporting aspect voiced at the time was that if someone discovered they were not happy in teaching they could use their original degree to pursue a different career.
This view was supported with the suggestion that a teaching-specific qualification for school leavers had the disadvantage that it would not always be recognised as having strong transferable qualities for similar purposes.
However, I suggest that what seems perhaps to be happening is that university graduates are often well aware that such key practices of the work as following The Curriculum for Excellence (CfE), would be a known challenge as it has patently become a toxic brand among a number of serving staff.
The well-publicised disaffection teachers are experiencing on CfE, pressure to raise attainment and other aspects such as remuneration must be far from inspiring. Any attempt at encouraging university graduates to join up must feel like a recruiting sergeant in The First World War when casualty figures started coming through.
I suggest it is now the time the GTCS looked towards recruiting people with a total passion, commitment and enthusiasm to teach as the first priority and review with haste the high quality of many holders of National Certificates and Diplomas from our Further Education Colleges, whom they have consciously locked out.
Bill Brown
46 Breadie Drive, Milngavie.
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