Government proposals to boost recruitment of teachers for subjects with the greatest shortage, by paying students up to £20,000, could turn out to be a waste of money, according to a director of Randstad Education.

Under the plans to be revealed in a consultation document later today, students with first class degrees are expected to receive a tax-free bursary of up to £20,000 to teach maths, physics and chemistry, which suffer the biggest staff shortages. Graduates who sign up for languages, IT and design & technology would receive £13,000, according to the story in the Daily Telegraph.

John Dunn (pictured above) told Recruiter that the idea was “worthy of consideration”, however he questions the long-term viability of the initiative if those choosing to teach are tempted into teaching purely by the money.

“As soon as the economy gets going again, these highly skilled individuals will have many offers in the wider economy and may be out of teaching again just as quickly, so the investment might be wasted, ” says Dunn.

Dunn adds that if people are going to be tempted into teaching by these bursaries, then he wants the government to give a commitment that there will be a job for them once they qualify. He says the increasing use of teaching assistants in schools could threaten the success of this initiative.