COLLEGE lecturers could be allowed to teach in Scottish secondary schools under new proposals.
The General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS) is considering plans to allow further education teaching staff to register as teachers.
The move would allow lecturers to move between the two sectors and help deliver the Scottish Government's drive to improve vocational skills in school-leavers.
It would also smooth the transition for pupils who leave school to pursue further study at a further education college.
Vikki Robertson, a senior education adviser for the GTCS, said the plan would require lecturers to retrain before being allowed into the classroom.
She said: "Universities would need to develop a programme of study and it would need to be accredited and approved by the GTCS. Part of that would need to involve teaching in a school."
Ms Robertson said one option was to allow lecturers to teach in schools while they worked towards their top-up qualification. She added: "If this is developed for lecturers it would allow time for further study to meet the teacher education criteria."
The plans was welcomed by college chiefs and the Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS) teaching union.
Shona Struthers, chief executive of Colleges Scotland, said: “Professional development is key to ensuring a teaching workforce that has the capability to provide high quality learning experiences for young people, whether in schools or colleges or in workplace settings.
"Anything that provides a more seamless transition between schools and colleges, for both students and staff, would be a worthwhile development."
However, Larry Flanagan, general secretary of the EIS, warned that any requirement for additional training should be funded.
He said: "It is appropriate that the GTCS is looking at how lecturers and schools can work in partnership to the benefit of learners while continuing to uphold the high standards that are expected of all teaching professionals."
The move is part of a wider drive to introduce more flexibility into the teaching profession, partly as a result of shortages.
Last year, the GTCS ruled that classroom staff who had qualified outside Scotland would be allowed to work in a school immediately under a new conditional registration.
People who secure a job in this way will be put on probation while they complete any additional studies or training required for full registration, a legal requirement.
The move comes after a number of councils in rural areas have complained of crippling teacher shortages, with concerns the current registration process for teachers who have been working outside Scotland can be lengthy and inflexible.
Meanwhile, officials from Scotland's national exam body have warned in an internal memo that they are still short of markers for some of this summer's exams just weeks before they start.
A leaked email from the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) states there are still shortfalls in in four physics assessments at Higher and Advanced Higher.
Liz Smith, education spokeswoman for the Scottish Conservatives, said the issue would be of significant concern to parents and pupils.
A spokesman for the SQA said: "Every year we undertake an extensive recruitment process to recruit markers for all qualification subjects. This year the number of markers required is 10,000.
"As in previous years, we will continue to monitor and add to our bank of experienced markers up to the start of the exam diet."
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