Government attempts to rein in teacher workload have been a “consistent failure”, says an education expert.
Teachers are on a collision course with the SNP Government over the number of extra hours they have to put in under the reformed exams system.
The Educational Institute of Scotland is poised to take industrial action after a plan put forward by a committee set up by Nicola Sturgeon’s party “fell far short” of easing secondary teachers’ “excessive and sustainable” workloads.
Keir Bloomer, the architect of the Curriculum for Excellence, said: “There has been, over the years, a consistent failure to tackle teacher workload and there is no doubt the introduction of National 4 and National 5 was engendered by extreme levels of workload in relation to assessments,” he said. He added the assessment element was “allowed to get out of hand”.
Meanwhile, Scottish Labour called into question Nicola Sturgeon’s claim that education would be her “defining mission” if re-elected.
Iain Gray, Labour’s education spokesman, said: “Will the SNP protect the education budget in real terms across the next parliament? It is a question they have dodged over and over in the last few weeks.”
An SNP spokesman said their commitment to improving education is clear with an extra £750m to reduce attainment gap and £500m a year to spend on early years education by the end of the parliament.
Responding to Labour’s attack, he said Sunday’s TV debate was defined by Kezia Dugdale’s “complete inability” to explain why she was shortchanging health.
