'Broken promises' claim as teacher numbers drop to lowest in 8 years

TEACHER numbers have fallen to their lowest level in eight years, prompting claims that the SNP government has broken one of its key manifesto promises.

• Michael Russell: SNP 'driving forward' to cut class sizes Pic: SNS

Official statistics released by the Scottish Government disclosed that the number of teachers have fallen by more than 2,000 in the last year to 54,600 - a drop of almost 3,000 since the SNP came to power in 2007.

The publication of the government's public sector employment statistics led to opposition politicians claiming that the SNP had failed to live up to its promise to maintain teacher numbers in order to bring down class sizes in primaries one to three to 18.

The fall in teacher numbers from the 57,500 recorded in 2007 when the SNP set up its administration came the day after the government confirmed it has effectively abandoned its class size pledge by introducing a pupil limit of 25 for primary one only.

Yesterday Labour education spokesman Des McNulty said the falling teacher numbers showed the "complete failure" of SNP education policy.

He said: "There seems to be no end to SNP policy failure in education. Many of the hundreds of newly-qualified teachers unable to get jobs are considering leaving the profession.

"Meanwhile, the SNP is slashing the numbers entering teacher education, which senior educationalists believe is storing up problems for the future.

"Scottish education desperately needs a change of government so the terminal decline of SNP policy does not drag the education system down any further."

Lib Dem education spokeswoman Margaret Smith said: "This latest broken manifesto promise by the SNP, only days after the climb-down on class sizes, is not only hugely embarrassing, but also tells the story of the human cost of SNP failings."

The numbers refer to full-time equivalent (FTE) teachers. They show there were 54,600 teachers between April and June this year - this is down 2,200 on the same period last year when the figures stood at 56,800. It is the lowest level since the third quarter of 2002, when there were 54,400.

The statistics showed the public sector employed 606,400 people between April and June. This is down 8,100 on the same period last year, but the public sector still accounts for almost a quarter (24.7 per cent) of all jobs in Scotland.

This includes staff at Royal Bank of Scotland, Lloyds and Northern Rock, which are all or partially owned by the taxpayer.

Education secretary Michael Russell said later that the government was "absolutely committed" to ensuring as many teachers as possible are employed by local government.

He said: "That's why we've acted to reduce the number of trainee teachers coming into the system. Scotland has the lowest level of teacher claimants in the United Kingdom.We are also driving forward to reduce primary one to three class sizes, to a total of 20 per cent in classes of 18 or fewer, which will benefit pupils and teachers alike."