An additional 2,000 teaching staff need to be recruited to support Scottish teachers following the cancellation of exams, it has been claimed.
Education Secretary John Swinney was told teachers feared their increasing workload as exams were replaced by teacher assessments and estimated grades.
The Scottish Government have said councils have already recruited approximately 1,600 extra teaching and support staff for schools.
However at an education debate at Holyrood, Mr Swinney was urged to hire more teachers to ease the burden on schools which are already facing staff issues.
Following the cancellation of exams, the Scottish Government also announced a one-off payment would be made to teachers involved in assessing pupils.
Exams cancelled: Do teachers have enough time to deliver fair results?
Leading the debate, Conservative MSP Jamie Greene said teachers were concerned about their mental health after exams were cancelled.
He said: “In abdicating assessment responsibility from SQA-led exams onto teachers, those teachers are concerned about their workload.
“A one-off payment, announced by the cabinet secretary, might compensate them financially but it won’t buy them more time.”
As of November 23, an additional 30 teachers were recruited for primary and secondary schools in Angus, 42 in Dundee, 90 in Fife and 33 in Perth and Kinross.
The local authority areas, excluding Fife, have also hired additional support staff.
Mr Swinney said Higher and Advanced Highers would not go ahead after too many pupils had their education disrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Thousands of pupils have been absent from school each week as a result of self-isolation.
Mr Swinney told Holyrood: ““The government has put in place £80 million of additional resources already which has resulted in the recruitment of over 1,400 additional teachers and 246 support staff.
“This additional resource is bringing much needed resilience to schools and the education system.
“Decisions about school staffing rests with local authorities and I continue to discuss their ongoing needs and aspirations around staff numbers and providing education during the Covid crisis.”
The issue has been raised previously in parliament by the Scottish Greens who said additional recruitment was urgent to manage staff absences and prevent disruption caused by the pandemic.
Mr Greene also called on further clarity over prelim exams and the moderation process which the Scottish Qualifications Authority will use to issue grades.
