The Scottish Government has been accused of ‘clipping the wings’ of committed teachers after it decided to withdraw funding for ‘vital’ Masters level professional development.
Officials claim that they are ‘unable’ to offer financial support due to budget ‘pressures’ but critics expressed ‘huge concern’ and warned that the move risks pushing more teachers out of the classroom.
In a letter to councils and universities, dated 2 June 2023, a senior government official confirms that they will not provide funding ‘during the financial year 2023-24 for the initiative that allows teachers to engage with masters level learning.’ The Herald understands that the Scottish Government will save in the region of £700k with the cut.
The letter points to ‘a challenging financial position for the Scottish Government and the public sector in general’ before specifically highlighting teachers’ recently agreed pay deal, secured after historic strike action. It then adds: ‘It is in that context that we have had to reconsider the funding for masters level learning.’
Despite this, the letter states that the government continues to ‘value the importance of teacher professional learning’, before advising that only those applying for Headteacher programmes ‘set at masters level’ will be eligible for support.
