First minister Nicola Sturgeon and education minister John Swinney have criticised the decision, saying it is not in young people’s interests, but the Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS) said its warnings over the last two years had gone unheeded. The action will not include any strikes.
EIS general secretary Larry Flanagan said: “This ballot result reflects the frustration of Scotland’s secondary teachers over the excessive assessment demands being placed on them and their pupils, particularly around unit assessments at National 5 and Higher; and the EIS now has a very clear mandate to implement an immediate work-to-contract in relation to SQA activity.
“It is not our intention that this action should impact directly on pupils, and teachers will continue to teach classes normally and to assess pupils’ work.”
The union would be issuing guidance to members advising which SQA-related activities they should withdraw cooperation from and which activities teachers should continue to undertake as normal, Mr Flanagan added.
Last week teachers at the EIS annual general meeting spoke of the “desperate need” for the Scottish government to press the SQA for changes to assessment practices in order to lighten what they said was an excessive burden on pupils and teachers.
Ms Sturgeon said the government was “working very hard to ensure that industrial action does not take place in our schools”.
Speaking at First Minister’s Questions, she said: “I don’t believe that is in the interests of teachers and I certainly don’t believe it is in the interests of young people.
“This is an issue around what teachers consider to be unnecessary workload and the government has been very clear about our determination to take action to reduce teacher workload.”
Deputy first minister John Swinney, now education secretary, said the Scottish government was addressing workload issues. “Industrial action in our schools would not be in the interests of anyone, least of all pupils and parents,” he said. “The first minister and I have set out various steps we are taking to tackle bureaucracy and free up teachers to teach.”