Scotland’s largest teaching union clashed with SNP ministers yesterday after new figures revealed a drop in staff numbers.
The Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS) said it was disappointed that official statistics showed teacher numbers in state schools fell from 51,253 in 2012 to 51,078 this year.
EIS general secretary Larry Flanagan criticised both the Scottish Government and local councils for failing to maintain staff numbers in line with pupil rolls as promised.
But the government and local government umbrella organisation Cosla insisted the pledge had been delivered, because the overall teacher to pupil ratio has been maintained for the last three years.
Education Secretary Mike Russell said: “I am pleased that the country-wide pupil-teacher ratio has remained level, ensuring that our teaching workforce is now stable.” He also welcomed the fact school exclusion rates across Scotland had fallen by 23,000 since 2006-7, a drop of 51%, and attendance levels were now 93.6%.
But Mr Flanagan said protection of teacher numbers was one of the “few positives” from the 2011 teaching agreement, which resulted in a £45million cuts package being implemented.
He added: “This year, however, we have seen a fall in teacher numbers while at the same time class sizes are rising, especially in the P1-3 phase which has been a policy area for the government. We have also witnessed a fall in nursery-aged children who have access to a teacher, again a policy promise of the Scottish Government which is being broken.”
Mr Flanagan said teachers were very angry they had yet to receive a 1% pay increase despite “working flat out” to deliver the Curriculum for Excellence.
Douglas Chapman of Cosla insisted the statistics confirmed Scotland’s 32 councils “once again delivered” a commitment to maintain teacher numbers in line with pupil numbers. “Teacher numbers are but one part of the improving education mix and I can say that local authorities are even more focused on improving attainment within schools,” he added.