A new wave of Gaelic teachers is to be trained in response to a chronic shortage. The project by Aberdeen University and colleges in the Highlands and Islands aims to address the dearth of Gaelic teachers in Scotland.

A new wave of Gaelic teachers is to be trained in response to a chronic shortage.

The project by Aberdeen University and colleges in the Highlands and Islands aims to address the dearth of Gaelic teachers at both primary and secondary level in Scotland.

Only five primary and five secondary probationer teachers will enter the profession this year. Last year a record number was trained, 20 for primary and nine secondary. The previous year there were 12 primary and just two secondary probationers.

But the demand is growing. Although spoken Gaelic is in decline in all age groups in its traditional heartlands, such as the Western Isles, there are currently 3204 being educated through the medium of Gaelic, largely in primaries. A further 3701 students study Gaelic as a subject or are studying a Gaelic learners' course in secondary schools.

Now a new joint honours degree in Gaelic with Education, the first of its kind in Scotland, has been designed to boost numbers in Gaelic language education.

Students can study at Sabhal Mòr Ostaig, the Gaelic college in Skye, or at Lews Castle College in Stornoway, with the education component completed via online distance learning with the School of Education, University of Aberdeen. The first cohort of students will begin their degree studies in September.

It was announced yesterday that Matthew MacIver was standing down as chairman of Bòrd na Gàidhlig to take up a professorship at the University of Highlands and Islands Millennium Institute.

Arthur Cormack, who currently serves on Bòrd na Gàidhlig, has been asked to become its deputy chair.