Amara's Story

Amara, 29, from Birmingham Hall Green and Moseley wanted to become a teacher in the West Midlands, where schools desperately need qualified educators. But HM Treasury's spending rules forced the Department for Education to slash teacher training bursaries for subjects with critical shortages, treating recruitment as a zero-sum game rather than investing in regional needs. The classrooms were ready, graduates were eager to teach, but Westminster chose not to fund the connection between supply and demand. This episode explores how central government decisions create artificial scarcity in education, leaving communities in one of England's most deprived areas without the teachers they need. Recorded in Birmingham Hall Green and Moseley constituency, West Midlands. No conflicts of interest to declare.