The Welsh Conservatives have criticised a Welsh Labour Government scheme that offers thousands of pounds in grants to encourage maths teachers from ethnic minority backgrounds. They argue that, given the current teacher recruitment and retention crisis, all efforts should be focused on recruiting the best possible teaching staff, regardless of their background.
Commenting, Welsh Conservative Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Education, Natasha Asghar MS, said:
“Ultimately, with the ongoing recruitment and retention crisis in our education system, we should be focusing on recruiting the best maths teachers, regardless of their ethnicity.
“This additional funding for ethnic minority maths teachers increases the total grant to £25,000—significantly higher than what is available to teachers from non-ethnic backgrounds.
“With the alarming number of mathematics teachers leaving the profession and so few being recruited, surely the Welsh Labour Government should be offering equal funding for all mathematics teachers.”
