"Councils are spending cash that was meant to fund new teachers in Scottish schools on retirement deals for staff, it was claimed yesterday, sparking a war of words between ministers and local authorities. A source close to the Scottish Executive said some councils had spent their share of an £18m package for new teachers, which was announced in December, to finance other priorities...
An executive spokeswoman said: "We have made it clear to councils that we expect funds allocated to provide extra teachers to do just that. "Mr Peacock has written to directors of education and finance in connection with the recent announcement and also provided each local authority with targets for the number of teachers they need to have in post in 2007."
So there you have it: as clear a statement as you could wish for that the Executive considers local education authorities to be delivery agents who should do exactly what they are told, no more and no less. Never mind all those elected councillors; Mr Peacock will determine how many teachers a local authority will employ.
Do you suppose that this system will bring about better education for our children? Or that it will encourage healthy local government?
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