MINISTERS are facing mounting pressure to impose financial penalties on Scottish councils who slashed teacher numbers this year.

Unions are demanding the Scottish Government takes action after new figures showed school staff were axed in around half of local authorities.

The largest fall was in Fife where 67 teaching posts were lost followed by Edinburgh with a cut of 63 teachers.

There was also a reduction of 44 teachers in the Scottish Borders, 29 in Dundee, 28 in South Lanarkshire and 18 in East Renfrewshire.

Overall the number of teachers across Scotland has fallen by more than 250 to 50,824 in 2014 compared to the previous year leading to rising class sizes.

Under the terms of the agreement between the Scottish Government and local authority umbrella body Cosla councils who missed their targets should have faced financial penalties, estimated at around £10 million.

However, ministers have so far refused to impose the sanctions pending discussions on how local authorities are to be judged on educational performance in future.

Larry Flanagan, general secretary of the Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS), said the financial penalties should be imposed to force councils to comply with targets.

He said: "The agreement to maintain teacher numbers was designed to keep class sizes down to ensure a quality environment for pupils.

"This failure to even meet the target of maintaining teacher numbers is a worrying indicator of the way that class sizes will rise if councils continue to cut teachers.

"There is absolutely no educational rationale for reducing teaching staff levels in schools at a time when workload demands are increasing owing to factors such as curricular change, the introduction of new methods of assessment and the creation of a new qualifications system.

"To continue to cut teacher levels is to short-change pupils in our schools, with worrying potential consequences for both these young people and for the whole of Scotland."

A spokesman for the Scottish Government said the financial penalties could still be imposed if the talks on future standards stalled.

He said: "The Scottish Government and local authorities made a shared a commitment to maintain teacher numbers in line with pupil numbers for this financial year.

"Discussions are underway with Cosla, local authorities, teacher unions, parent bodies and others on the best way to measure a broader range of educational outcomes, including teacher numbers as an important factor in the future. If these discussions do not reach a satisfactory agreement the existing commitment and financial agreements will remain in place."

The spokesman said the decline in pupil teacher ratios was "disappointing", but added that councils were also facing budgetary pressures.

"Our priority continues to be to maintain teacher numbers in line with pupil numbers, but we recognise that the UK Government's policy of financial austerity places Scottish Government and local government in a difficult position," he said.

"In that context it is important that we both work together for children and young people and we will be engaging with Cosla, trade unions and parent bodies to reach agreement on how we best support teachers and teaching."

A spokesman for Cosla said: "We have embarked on a process with Scottish Government, trade unions, parent bodies and other interested parties to consider a broader range of indicators for educational improvement.

"The work will conclude by March 2015 and I look forward to working with Scottish Government and all partners to deliver on this, so that local authorities can continue to deliver high quality education for Scotland's children and young people."

The council figures showed there were also slight falls in teacher numbers in Aberdeenshire, Angus, East Ayrshire, Glasgow, Inverclyde, North Ayrshire, Perth and Kinross, Renfrewshire, the Shetland Islands, South Ayrshire and the Western Isles.

Councils which managed to increase teacher numbers included Aberdeen, Argyll and Bute, Clackmannanshire, East Dunbartonshire, Falkirk, the Highlands, Midlothian, Moray, North Lanarkshire, Orkney, Stirling and West Dunbartonshire.

Earlier in December figures showed there are currently 50,824 nursery, primary and secondary teachers in Scotland, the lowest number since 2003 and more than 4,200 fewer than in 2007 when the SNP came to power.

The figures from Scotland's Chief Statistician show pupils teacher ratios have increased from 13 to 13.6 over the last seven years.

Only 12.9% pupils in the first three years of primary school are taught in classes which meet the Scottish Government's original target of 18 or fewer, compared to 21.6% in 2010.