Government funding to make 260 teacher training places available
An extra 260 teacher training places are to be made available through £2 million of funding, the Scottish Government has announced.
It will create 200 secondary student teacher places and 60 primary slots at Scottish universities for the 2016/17 year.
The funding is part of a teacher recruitment campaign that was launched in September with a focus on attracting teachers in science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) subjects.
The increase in student teachers will take the total intake to 3,490, a rise for the fifth year in a row, the government said.
The new positions are to be targeted in local areas most in need of teachers such as the Highlands and Aberdeen.
The Scottish Government said it is also asking the new Strategic Board for Teacher Education to consider whether further action is needed to ensure that schools have the right numbers of teachers.
Education Secretary Angela Constance said: We want to make sure we have the right number of skilled teachers in our schools to help all of our young people to succeed.
That's why we worked with local authorities to maintain teacher numbers this year and aim to do the same again next year, with a further £51 million funding.
And why we are increasing student places for the fifth year in a row, targeting them at areas where they are needed most such as Aberdeen and Highlands and Islands universities.
We have upped last year's student teacher targets for science, technology, engineering and maths and we know these will be challenging for the universities to meet. I will be asking the new Strategic Board for Teacher Education to look at our workforce planning, particularly in the secondary sector, to consider whether there is more we can do.
We also launched a teacher recruitment campaign in September with a focus on the STEM subjects and we are working with the universities to maximise its impact.''