Bursaries of £20,000 for career changers willing to train as teachers of maths, computing science, physics or technical education were announced this month by the Scottish government. There will be 100 bursaries available and a total of £2 million invested in the scheme.

However, in England bursaries of up to £30,000 have been offered for a number of years - and yet the government there has failed to hit its teacher recruitment targets.

Here, we explore the issues.

What exactly is the Scottish government proposing?

As of next year, bursaries of £20,000 will be available in a bid to attract career changers into teaching who have a 2:1 undergraduate degree or above in the relevant subject.

Education secretary John Swinney said he was introducing the new payments because career changers often had to “balance family and financial responsibilities” and the prospect of giving up a salary for a year was “a real barrier for them”.

Initially, the bursaries will be available for maths, computing science, physics or technical education students, but each year the subjects will be reviewed, depending on need.

Why has the government been forced to take this action?

For about five years, Scotland has been suffering a particular shortage in applications to train in teaching science, technology, maths and engineering (Stem) subjects.

Figures from the 2016-17 academic year revealed by Tes Scotland (“One-in-10 teacher training places are going unfilled”, 24 February) showed that the government wanted to recruit 179 maths teachers, but secured only 128 trainees. The target for technological education was 86 and 47 students were recruited and the target for computing was 52 and 41 students were recruited.

Physics fared far better, with one extra student teacher recruited. Success was put down to the Scottish government‘s recruitment drive and a concerted effort by universities to attract candidates.

What has the reaction been to the announcement?

EIS teaching union general secretary Larry Flanagan welcomed the move, but argued retention was as important as recruitment. He urged the Scottish government to do more to improve the lot of teachers already in schools.

“This must include reducing the excessive workload demands on teachers as well as delivering significant improvements in levels of pay,” he said.

One commentator on Twitter speculated that the government was taking inspiration from England.

What bursaries exist in England?

The Westminster government has issued bursaries for “high-needs” subjects such as physics and mathematics for several years, including up to £30,000 for a physics graduate with a first-class degree, to attract top graduates.

According to a National Audit Office report published last year, the Department for Education spent £620 million on bursaries in the five years to 2014-15 and had planned to spend £167 million a year in 2015-16 and 2016-17.

How much is the Scottish government spending?

It’s worth bearing in mind that Scottish and EU students (not including other parts of the UK) do not pay fees, and means-tested bursaries and loans are also available. However, the Scottish government is still planning to spend only £2 million on 100 bursaries for Stem graduates.

But has supplying bursaries worked in England?

An analysis by the DfE found an increase of £1,000 in bursary value led to a 2.9 per cent increase in applications.

However, in 2016-17 geography, biology, PE and history were the only secondary school subjects that exceeded their recruitment target in England.

Recruitment in design and technology missed its target by the biggest margin, with 41 per cent of teacher training places filled.

The proportion of the target for computing trainees recruited was 68 per cent, physics was 81 per cent and maths 84 per cent.

The National Audit Office report said extra quantitative and qualitative work was needed to conclude “whether bursaries work”.

The Westminster government is trialling a new scheme - announced earlier this month at the Conservative Party conference - in which maths teachers will receive an upfront payment of £20,000 and further awards of £5,000 in the third and fifth years of their careers.

Will the bursaries guarantee a significant boost to teacher numbers in Scotland?

Tes Scotland asked the Scottish government if teachers receiving the new Stem bursaries would be tied to teaching in Scotland for a period, but the question went unanswered. The government said it was working on “more precise detail of the eligibility criteria and a delivery model”.

What do the experts say?

Liz Lakin, a senior lecturer in education at the University of Dundee and a member of the Learned Societies’ Group on Scottish Stem Education, spoke at a teacher recruitment conference in Edinburgh in August.

She called for more diverse routes into the profession, so a more diverse range of Stem graduates could come into teaching. Pay could be a “strong disincentive” when it came to teaching, she said, as could possibly having to live somewhere else during probation.

Ms Lakin mentioned the bursaries available in England for Stem graduates but said that “the whole process needs to be evaluated externally”. She added that lateral progression routes were important, because “not everybody aspires to leadership or headship” and “we need to ensure the people we bring in feel valued on the ground and have the opportunity to progress in their own areas”.