Fife SNP education chief Jenny Gilruth admitted she has not bothered reading a damning report on violence in schools in full.
The Glenrothes MSP dismissed the concerning findings from an EIS union survey in Aberdeen as a matter for the local council to deal with.
On Tuesday, the BBC reported more than a third of teachers in the city said they had been physically attacked by a pupil in class.
Almost half of teachers who responded said they saw violent behaviour from children in schools every day.
But when questioned about the survey on The Sunday Show, Ms Gilruth said: “I haven’t looked at the specifics of the EIS’ report from Aberdeen.
“I don’t oversee education locally. That’s a matter for the local authority.”
She added: “Scotland has 32 different council areas, so I don’t think it would be wise for me to predicate Scotland’s national approach on one local survey.”
Fife violence crisis
But Fife also has a huge problem when it comes to violence in classrooms.
In November, we reported there were almost 13,500 reported violent and aggressive incidents over the last six years.
The EIS say broken fingers, head injuries, and significant knee injuries have been reported to them.
Almost 50% of Fife teachers who responded to a survey last year said they had experienced physical abuse from pupils in the past year.
And more than half said they were considering leaving the profession due to aggression from schoolchildren.
The education secretary insisted it was important not to “demonise” children, insisting most are well-behaved.
But Beeb host Martin Geissler claimed the broadcaster had been “overwhelmed” with tales of “lawless classrooms” across Scotland.
Ms Gilruth’s interview with Mr Geissler was heavily criticised by rivals.
Mid Scotland and Fife Tory MSP Murdo Fraser said: “Absolute car crash interview with JennyGilruth on BBC Scotland Sunday Politics on the epidemic of school violence highlighted by EIS.
“Clueless, out of touch, and devoid of solutions.”
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