What about Stem?

So another survey indicates that many school pupils are still behind in numeracy (your report, 1 May); presumably literacy is still suffering too.

While some folk extoll the Curriculum for Excellence (CfE) for building up pupils’ confidence in their abilities and how to use them, actual factual learning with associated development of analytical skills and problem-solving doesn’t seem to rate. What has happened to the acknowledged need to foster “science, technology, engineering and mathematics” (the Stem group)?

Meeting businesses’ and manufacturing enterprises’ calls to remedy the reported increasing shortfall of technically skilled employees, the CfE authorities should spell out more fully how Stem are integrated into the new syllabuses.

(Dr) Joe Darby

Dingwall

Ross-shire