Nicola Sturgeon was challenged over whether her priority is “separation or education” after being confronted with figures showing a nosedive in teacher numbers.
There are 4,000 fewer teachers in Scotland since the SNP came to power in 2007, Ruth Davidson said at First Minister’s Questions.
That is compounded by a dwindling supply teacher stock, the Scottish Conservative leader added.
In Dundee, there are just 75 supply teachers listed for 2016/17 – one of the lowest in the country, according to figures obtained through freedom of information laws.
There were 331 reserve teachers in Angus in the latest figures they provided – 100 fewer than there were four years previously.
Ms Davidson accused the Nationalists of “falling asleep at the wheel over the last decade” on teacher recruitment.
She mocked claims from the SNP leader that education was her priority amid her drive for a new independence referendum, before asking: “Separation or education, which is it First Minister?”
Ms Davidson added: “We face a crisis in classrooms across Scotland and Nicola Sturgeon must sort out her priorities.”
To jeers from the opposition benches, Ms Sturgeon said the Tory leader in Scotland “tries to shoe horn in reference to the constitution” at “every opportunity”.
Ms Sturgeon said teacher numbers had “fluctuated” in line with pupil numbers, but admitted there are teacher recruitment challenges in parts of the country.
The FM said: “We are taking a range of actions to make sure that we have the right number of teachers in our schools.”
That includes, Ms Sturgeon added, 11 new routes of getting people into teaching to attract the “best and brightest” into the profession, as well as close consultation with the General Teaching Council on boosting supply lists.
The Scottish Government is giving £120m direct to headteachers, using Attainment Challenge funding to improve the performance of less advantaged pupils and introducing standardised assessments to equip teachers with more data, Ms Sturgeon added.
Stewart Hunter, Dundee City Council’s education convener, said supply teacher numbers in the city has “improved but is a continued challenge”.
“One of the challenges we face is that a number of teachers have indicated a preference for a permanent teaching post within a school rather than employment as a permanent supply teacher,” he said.
“Our solution is to offer teachers a direct route from the permanent supply pool into permanent school posts thereby reducing the time spent in a supply position.”
They are also trying to encourage former teachers to come out of retirement to bolster the supply pool, Mr Hunter added.
At Blairgowrie High School, which sits in Education Secretary John Swinney’s Perthshire constituency, teachers have had to be drafted in from other parts of the district to deal with a shortage in the maths department.
It followed a call from the headteacher for parents with a maths-related degree to help teach.
That was later clarified as a plea for qualified teachers to sign up to supply lists.
Perth & Kinross has a 334 teachers listed as supply teachers for 2016/17, but did not provide data for earlier years.
Fife Council only provided figures for the last two years, which showed an 18% rise to 327.
