Anya's Story

Meet Anya, 27, from Queen's Park and Maida Vale in London. She wanted to become a teacher in a subject facing critical shortages, but found herself blocked by Westminster's funding choices. The Department for Education reduced teacher training bursaries for shortage subjects in London, setting national recruitment targets that ignore regional disparities. HM Treasury's spending rules force departments to compete for fixed pots, as though the government that creates the currency must first find it somewhere. The classrooms were there. The graduates who wanted to teach were there. What was missing was the political decision to connect them. This episode explores how central government choices create artificial scarcity in education. Full disclosure: this podcast advocates for monetary sovereignty and public investment.