1,200 teaching jobs 'will be left unfilled' in SNP classroom deal

A DEAL to give all probationary teachers jobs will only be possible if up to 1,200 teaching posts are left unfilled, a paper setting out the SNP government's options for staffing Scotland's schools has revealed.

The Scotsman has obtained a document from local government body Cosla entitled "The Government's Arithmetic" which revealed that only 4,600 of 5,800 teacher vacancies will be filled next year.

Currently, around 3,000 teacher vacancies arise annually in Scotland and jobs also need to be found for 2,800 teachers who finish their 12-month probationary posts each year.

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However, under the deal between the government and Cosla set out in the paper, only 4,600 of the vacancies would be filled, with jobs for the 2,800 teachers who have completed their one year's probation and a further 1,800 new one year probationer posts.

As many as 1,200 vacancies could be left unfilled as part of the proposed agreement, which would see 15 million of government funding handed to Cosla. Labour's education spokesman Des McNulty accused the SNP Government of sacrificing the education of children for political advantage.

He said: "The Cosla document obtained by The Scotsman demonstrates clearly the cynicism of the SNP Scottish Government. The loss of 1,200 additional teachers jobs will seriously jeopardise the education of thousands of our young people.

"Why must our children be the ones to suffer most? Why must their future be sacrificed by the SNP in the interest of electoral expediency?

"Education secretary Michael Russell has claimed the number of young teachers without jobs has kept him awake at night. These documents show his government intends further reductions in teacher numbers as education is sacrificed in an attempt to keep the SNP in office." Meanwhile, Mr Russell said that a final decision on the teachers numbers would be made after the publication of a census next month.

He said: "Through the budget and the agreement with Cosla leaders, funding is available to provide places for all new probationer teachers and all those finishing their probation next year, putting a stop to the waste of new teacher talent.

"Funding for additional posts to deliver a reduction in unemployed teachers is also available.

"Precise numbers will not become clear until we see the figures in the latest teacher census, due to be published in December, and until Cosla's discussions with individual councils are concluded.

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"But let me be clear: this agreement provides for a real and lasting reduction in teacher unemployment."

A Cosla spokesman said that the body would not comment on what it said was a leaked document.

He said "This was a hand-out from a private item at a leaders meeting that has been leaked to the press."