Education Secretary John Swinney has unveiled plans for a £1 million drive to recruit more than 200 new teachers.
The proposals include fast-track teacher training for graduates in the Stem subjects – science, technology, engineering and maths, courses for former teachers who want to return to the classroom and measures to attract unemployed teachers from Ireland.
Under the plans, more joint degrees in teaching and specialist subjects such as physics and chemistry will be offered and more primary teachers trained in specialisms such as numeracy, additional support needs and Stem subjects.
The plans, put forward by the Scottish Council of Deans of Education, will be backed by more than £1 million from the Scottish Government’s Attainment Scotland Fund, set up with the aim of narrowing the gap between pupils from poorer and wealthier backgrounds.
Speaking on a visit to Dundee, Deputy First Minister Mr Swinney said the proposals will help tackle teacher shortages but will not undermine the standard of teaching in schools.
He said: “Teachers are the bedrock of Scotland’s education system and I want to ensure we do everything we can to attract talented graduates to a career in teaching.
“The quality of teaching is key to helping pupils achieve and to our aspiration of closing the attainment gap.”
The north and north-east of Scotland has suffered well-documented difficulties in recruiting teachers, with councillors in the region generally welcoming Mr Swinney’s announcement.
Alison Evison, the co-leader and chair of education at Aberdeenshire Council, said: “It’s good that there is recognition from John Swinney that the way to fill teacher vacancies is not to threaten individual councils with sanctions but instead to recruit and train more quality teachers.
“The announcement is one step towards what needs to be a far greater programme of teacher recruitment.
“It is not enough on its own to deal with the current challenges.”
Angela Taylor, convener of education and children’s services at Aberdeen City Council, added: “When I spoke to Mr Swinney earlier this month one of my asks was around the Scottish Government being better prepared when it comes to workforce planning (and) therefore I am content that Mr Swinney’s announcement will help deliver more teachers in the future which can only be good for our children’s education.
“Where I disagree with Mr Swinney is on his decision to use Aberdeen City Council taxpayers’ money to pay for his initiative without setting out how many teachers Aberdeen City Council will receive in return for our investment in his scheme.”