HUNDREDS of extra teachers are to be trained for Scottish schools to help plug a growing shortfall.

The Scottish Government has announced that over £2 million in funding is being made available in 2016/17 to train an extra 260 teachers.

The move comes after widespread warnings over a lack of classroom staff from a number of councils.

Last year local authorities in Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, Moray, the Highlands, Orkney and Shetland spent more than £1 million advertising for 270 vacant teaching jobs.

However, an additional concern is that some of the training places made available last year for teachers in key subjects such as mathematics, physics and computing went unfilled.

Angela Constance, the Education Secretary, said: "We want to make sure we have the right number of skilled teachers in our schools to help all of our young people to succeed.

"That's why we are increasing student places for the fifth year in a row, targeting them at areas where they are needed most such as Aberdeen and Highlands and Islands universities.

"We have upped last year’s student teacher targets for science, technology, engineering and maths and we know these will be challenging for the universities to meet.

"I will be asking the new Strategic Board for Teacher Education to look at our workforce planning, particularly in the secondary sector, to consider whether there is more we can do."

The Herald:

Education Secretary Angela Constance

Ms Constance also said the government was committed to its policy of maintaining teacher numbers at existing levels.

The increase of 60 primary and 200 secondary student teacher places will bring the total intake to 3,490, a rise for the fifth year in a row.

There will be 1,230 postgraduate primary places, 710 undergraduate primary places, 1,350 secondary places and 200 undergraduate secondary places.

In September, the Scottish Government launched a recruitment campaign for new teachers with the focus on attracting specialists in science, technology, engineering and maths.