The Scottish Education Secretary has insisted that there is no alternative to the shake-up in the school curriculum, despite concerns of teachers that could culminate in industrial action.
Michael Russell claimed in a newspaper interview that support was being offered to ensure a successful transition to the Curriculum for Excellence across Scottish schools.
His comments came before a meeting of delegates from the Educational Institute of Scotland, Scotland’s biggest teaching union, which will be asked next week to consider striking unless the exams are delayed by a year.
There are concerns that some schools are not ready for the national 4 and 5 examinations. Mr Russell told the Scotland on Sunday newspaper: “There is a lot of pressure. The workload pressure that the new curriculum brings, yes, I recognise that.
“But to be blunt, I don’t see an alternative because I think we are well down the route of introducing it. What I need to do is to offer as much support as I can.”