Kemi's Story

In this episode of Blocked Britain, we meet Kemi, a 26-year-old graduate from Poplar and Limehouse in London who wanted to become a teacher in her local community. Despite critical teacher shortages in London schools and her readiness to train, Kemi found herself blocked by a political choice made in Whitehall. The Department for Education had reduced teacher training bursaries for subjects with critical shortages, while Treasury spending rules forced departments to compete for fixed pots of money as though the government that creates the currency must first find it somewhere. The classrooms were there, qualified graduates like Kemi were ready to teach, but Westminster chose not to connect them. Disclosure: This programme critiques government fiscal policy from a perspective that challenges conventional Treasury orthodoxy.