The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Teaching and Indyref discussed at Holyrood
Shadow education secretary Liz Smith MSP asked if the additional Barnett consequential would be put toward recruiting teachers in primary, secondary and additional support schools.
Debating the Programme for Government, revealed on Tuesday, the Perthshire-based MSP said: “There have been some encouraging signs in some local authority areas of an improvement in teacher numbers.
“The fact remains teacher numbers are still down by 3,000 since the SNP came to power.
“We know there remain key shortages in some subjects and in additional supported learning. That area has seen a decline in 26% across primary and secondary schools over the last 10 years.
“The additional money should help the teacher training process and address some of the problems in retention and supply.
“Recent complaints from teaching staff have not just been about pay, but primarily about workload, often because of teacher shortages in the system.”
The debate turned increasingly to the question of independence.
Tory MSP Murdo Fraser said: “The first minister did not inspire many people with her Programme for Government.
“It was clear at the outset that really the only thing this government cares about is independence.
“Indeed, the Programme for Government mentions the word ‘independence’ 13 times and the word ‘referendum’ appears no less than 25 times.”
Scottish Liberal Democrat MSP Alex Cole-Hamilton said: “The choice between two unions has always been a false one and it has led to a paralysis of government which has starved all other policy considerations of oxygen.”