Dumbarton MSP Jackie Baillie believes that new statistics announced this week which show that older teachers are not delaying their retirement, totally contradicts the argument by the SNP that older teachers are partially responsible for the desperate job prospects facing new teachers.

The Time Educational Supplement Scotland (TESS) revealed that the most common retirement age of teachers has actually fallen over the last three years – from 62 years of age in 2007-08 to 60 years of age in 2009-10.

TESS reports that since the teacher jobs crisis began to bite, one explanation consistently put forward by the SNP Government and Cosla for the lack of posts for new entrants was that older teachers were putting off retirement beyond 60 because of the impact of the economic downturn on them and their families.

However in West Dunbartonshire, the figures show that out of the 35 teachers that retired this year, 21 of those were early retirements, and only 6 probationary teachers were employed.

Jackie said:

"The myth that older teachers are not retiring and stopping young teachers from continuing their career has been completely exposed. What these figures show is that the crisis for our young teachers can be laid at the door of the SNP. They are the ones solely responsible for the current misery of new teachers unable to find work.

"The reason we have almost 2500 fewer teachers in Scotland and only 11 per cent of newly qualified teachers have obtained permanent posts is because of the SNP’s mis-management of Scotland’s education system and their broken promises.

"The SNP’s educational legacy is fewer teachers, fewer classroom assistants, hardly any jobs for newly qualified teachers, teaching unions on the brink of strikes, parents fundraising for books and play equipment and not one school built in the term of this parliament.

"The SNP excuses are falling away. It’s time that Education Minister Mike Russell and his colleagues apologised for their many failures and stand down, so that Labour can stop the rot."