Robert Brown slams SNP cut in teacher numbers

12.00.00am BST (GMT +0100) Tue 5th May 2009

Glasgow Liberal Democrat MSP Robert Brown has slammed the Scottish Government for cutting the number of teacher training places.

Mr. Brown's comments followed a Liberal Democrat-led debate on education in the Scottish Parliament.

Earlier this year, the Scottish Funding Council - the body which distributes funding to Scotland's Colleges and Universities - issued a circular to the Higher Education sector announcing a target of a 9% increase in teacher training places across Universities for 2009/2010 academic year.

Yet during the debate, Education Secretary Fiona Hyslop admitted that the SNP would actually be cutting the number of teacher training places by four per cent.

Mr. Brown is a former Deputy Education Minister.

Robert Brown said:

"Under pressure from the Liberal Democrats this morning, the Education Secretary admitted that the Government's plans for teacher training are changing. The SNP Government has totally lost the plot on this issue.

"Instead of the nine per cent increase in training places announced only on 3 March there will now be a cut of four per cent.

"Liberal Democrats in Government recruited thousands more new teachers, taking the total up to a record 53,000. This record - with all the advantages for children in Scottish schools - is being severely damaged by the fact that teacher numbers have now fallen by almost 1,000 since the SNP Government took power. To cut future training places is clearly a wrong-footed idea.

"We should be investing in our future. With many teachers due to retire in the next few years, now is not the time to be cutting teacher training places.

"Every set of Government figures show the SNP is failing to get it right on education. Scotland's children deserve better."

Ends

Notes to Editors:

The circular from the SFC, published on 3 March 2009 is attached. The table showing the nine per cent increase in training places is Table 4, page 12

http://www.sfc.ac.uk/information/info_circulars/sfc/2009/sfc0809/sfc0809.pdf

During last week's Liberal Democrat-led debate on education, the Education Secretary said:

"…The reduction on the initial target for this year is a drop of only 4 per cent. That will amount to 157 teachers…"