A “very real threat” exists to education and other public services in Fife as the region desperately struggles to balance its books, it has been claimed.
Bryan Poole, Fife Council’s executive spokesman for education, has told The Courier he understands why some teachers may feel as though their profession is “under attack” as the local authority prepares to make substantial financial cuts to the sector.
It comes as a leading union official described possible cuts to teacher numbers as a “no-brainer”.
Mr Poole told The Courier: “There is a very real threat (posed) to the public sector and the services they provide, including education, by the policies being pursued by both the UK and Scottish governments.
“For the last seven years as the demand for public services has increased the funding available to councils and health services has been cut or frozen.
“I can understand why some teachers feel their profession is under attack and though I share their concern, my concern goes beyond teachers.
“Everyone working in the public sector, including teachers, social workers, home care staff nurses in the NHS, is feeling the pressure of year on year cuts.
“Am I concerned about the impact on the morale of staff working in the public sector? Of course I am.”
Fife Council has to plug a £77 million hole in its finances over the next three years, with education making up 51% of its overall budget.
A restructuring of the school week to give primary pupils Friday afternoons off as well as an increase in class sizes for S1/S2 maths and English have been suggested, a move which the EIS union claims would lead to the loss of 180 teaching posts.
David Farmer, the teaching union’s press officer for Fife, told The Courier that major changes to the sector were a “no-brainer” for the council.
Mr Farmer said: “Our view is that in the secondary sector, changes to S1 and S2 will be taken forward,” he said.
“I can’t say that with certainty but it looks like a no-brainer. Education is going to have to take a big hit and that’s not good for anyone.”
Mr Farmer added that changes to the school timetable, giving teachers less time with students, could also impact on staff morale.
He said: “How can teachers deliver the same curriculum and achieve the same targets in less time? There is an issue there.
“It is a pressurised job but in the last few years there is a lot more pressure than teachers have ever been under.”
The EIS has previously vowed to fight any proposed cuts, of which more detail could emerge ahead of Fife Council’s budget next month.
Mr Poole stressed that job cuts elsewhere in Fife Council had been achieved by voluntary redundancy and retirement.
He added that there was no threat to teachers of compulsory redundancy as a consequence of impending budget cuts.
However, Mr Poole did accept that the council was at the mercy of external forces.
“I would say to our EIS colleagues that I share the concern they clearly have around the impact of the cuts on their members,” he said.
“But I would also remind the EIS that Fife Council has virtually no control over the finance available to it.
“Around 82% of our revenue comes from the Scottish Government with the remaining 18% from the council tax, which has been frozen for seven years.
“The financial challenge facing Fife Council has not been of Fife’s making.”