COUNCILS struggling with teacher shortages will be hit with "unfair" financial penalties, senior officials have warned.

Education directors said a Scottish Government policy to protect teacher numbers by fining councils who saw numbers drop ignored a current school recruitment crisis.

The Association of Directors of Education (Ades) wants ministers to include vacant posts in their overall teacher numbers to protect school budgets from further cuts.

The call comes just days after one of Scotland's most senior education bosses was suspended over fears his council would incur financial sanctions.

North Lanarkshire Council took the action against learning director Andrew Sutherland pending an investigation into whether inaccurate teacher numbers were sent to the government as part of its annual census.

Earlier this year, Finance Secretary John Swinney warned councils which failed to maintain teacher numbers that they would have their share of a £51 million funding package to boost the figures clawed back.

In a letter to Angela Constance, the Education Secretary, Ades highlighted the teacher shortages across the country, which recently prompted seven councils to hold an emergency recruitment summit.

John Stodter, general secretary of Ades, said: "You will be aware of the extreme difficulties directors of education are finding in staffing schools owing to the lack of available teachers.

"The shortfall will vary in size, but will be significant in some areas of the country with many vacancies remaining unfilled beyond the start of the current school session despite targeted recruitment campaigns.

"We are further concerned the government is considering penalising those councils who do not meet a target figure for the number of teachers they employ, even though there are insufficient teachers available for work to meet the target."

Mr Stodter said the "unfair" nature of the policy could be addressed by including budgeted vacancies for permanent posts in the census.

Stephanie Primrose, education spokeswoman for council umbrella body Cosla, backed the Ades call.

She said: “To focus on an artificial target says nothing about the quality of education provided in Scotland.

"We know councils are facing increasing difficulty in teacher recruitment and being held to maintain numbers, regardless of whether they are in the right place or subject.”

However, Larry Flanagan, general secretary of the Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS) teaching union, said the commitment on teacher numbers was “absolutely vital” to ensure consistent provision in schools across the country.

He added: “While it is clear that there are recruitment issues in some areas which do require to be tackled, this does not remove the obligation on councils to maintain teacher numbers.

“The EIS is willing to work with local authorities and others to attempt to solve recruitment issues, but this cannot be at the expense of maintaining teacher numbers. Scottish teachers will not accept any reneging on this issue."

The Scottish Government said the rules on the collection of national statistics were well established.

A spokeswoman said: “The annual census…. provides an accurate picture of how many teachers are currently in our schools.

“These are national statistics and local authorities are obliged to make sure their returns are correct and completed in line with the published guidance.”

In February, Mr Swinney blamed local authorities for breaking an SNP promise to maintain teacher numbers and delivered an ultimatum that they would be stripped of funding if they failed to stop the sharp decline since 2007.

His remarks prompted a backlash from individual local authorities, with Glasgow City Council warning that funding was “not nearly enough” to maintain the ratio of teachers to pupils.

And in September seven councils called for a national taskforce to halt "crippling" teacher shortages across the country.

Officials from Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, Moray, the Highlands, the Western Isles, the Orkney Islands and the Shetland Islands want to see a national plan developed by the Scottish Government to increase the number of teachers available.