Rishi Sunak pledged to boost math education in UK secondary schools to boost the economy, an attempt to position himself as a long-term prime minister even as his Conservative government struggles to persuade voters it can fix public services at risk of collapsing on its watch.
(Bloomberg) — Rishi Sunak pledged to boost math education in UK secondary schools to boost the economy, an attempt to position himself as a long-term prime minister even as his Conservative government struggles to persuade voters it can fix public services at risk of collapsing on its watch.
Sunak hit out at what he called an anti-math mindset in Britain that is holding back growth, and said numeracy should be prized as highly as ability to read. A new advisory group will examine math content in schools and assess whether a new qualification is needed for 16 to 18-year-olds. The prime minister has already said pupils should study some form of math until the age of 18.
There was little detail: Sunak said any plan will require more math teachers, and that the advisory group will not report until July. Education Secretary Gillian Keegan told broadcasters earlier that reforms would not happen before the next general election, due by January 2025 at the latest.
The UK is one of the least numerate countries in the OECD, with more than 8 million adults having skills below those expected of a 9-year-old and around a third of pupils failing GCSE math exams normally taken at age 16.
Yet the timing betrays the awkward politics facing Sunak. His Tory party is trailing the opposition Labour party by a double-digit margin in national opinion polls, and Sunak is to trying to persuade voters to give the Conservatives another chance after already 13 years in power.
The problem is that as Sunak spoke, public services — including the schools essential to his math plan — are in a state of crisis. Industrial action is hurting the economy, as trade unions demand more pay to compensate for the UK’s stubbornly high inflation, which rose to 10.4% in February.
Members of the National Education Union overwhelmingly rejected a government pay offer this month and announced strikes in schools on April 27 and May 2, with three more days planned later in the summer term.
Meanwhile members of the Royal College of Nursing also rejected a pay offer, and nurses could keep striking until Christmas unless more money is offered. That follows a four-day walkout by junior doctors last week.
Sunak acknowledged the strikes in the National Health Service make it more “challenging” to cut patient lists, as more than 7 million Britons wait for elective care. On Monday, he reiterated the government’s priority is for pay settlements to be “affordable for taxpayers” and also help get inflation down.
But the impact of public sector pay increases on inflation is disputed by economists, while Sunak’s call for more math education was met by criticism from the teacher unions that schools already face a teacher shortage.
“After 13 years in government there are not enough teachers to deliver the prime minister’s vision,” said Mary Bousted, the NEU’s joint general secretary.
For Sunak, the reaction to the education plan reflects a wider political reality. During the government broadcast round, Keegan said the Tories had overhauled math education in 2015. On Monday, Sunak effectively conceded much more needs to be done — and that he should be the leader to do it.
–With assistance from Andrew Atkinson.
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