Highlands and Islands MSP Donald Cameron has welcomed a commitment from the Scottish Government to take action on Gaelic teacher education. The Scottish Conservative MSP, who is Vice-Convener of the Cross-Party Group on Gaelic, questioned the Cabinet Secretary for Education, Shirley-Anne Somerville, on the matter earlier today in the Scottish Parliament.
He highlighted his concern that just 25 Gaelic teachers were recruited from PGDE courses in the last five years, well below the target set by the Scottish Funding Council. Mr Cameron said: “I am pleased that Shirley-Anne Somerville responded positively to my question, referred to action being taken, and invited suggestions from people with an interest in this subject, including myself.
“As we know only too well, Gaelic is under great pressure, and a failure to meet even the modest target for Gaelic teachers is deeply concerning. We must deliver the teachers we need and I look forward to working with others to find solutions."
“We cannot allow any more years of drift if we are to secure the language’s future.”
Donald Cameron’s exchange with Shirley-Anne Somerville can be viewed here (at 14:50:05): Meeting of the Parliament (Continued) | Scottish Parliament TV
The text of his question and the teacher figures referred to are provided below.
Supplementary Q: Since 2016/17, just 25 new Gaelic teachers were recruited from PGDE Secondary courses, falling short of the Scottish Funding Council’s target of 31 in that period. Given the need to fill vacancies in Gaelic education, what action is the Scottish Government taking to ensure the 2021/22 target is met and exceeded?
Source
PGDE secondary and alternative route intake figures
2016/17 2017/18 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21 Total
SFC Target 5 5 5 8 8 31
Recruited 4 0 5 7 9 25
2016/17 and 2017/18 – link
2018/19 – link
2019/20 – link
2020/21 – link