ONE third of Scotland’s 32 councils have no black or ethnic minority teachers working in their schools, according to new figures.
A report by the Coalition for Racial Equality and Rights partly blamed “discrimination” in the appointment process for teachers.
Although black and minority ethnic groups (BME) are over-represented in applications for teaching posts they are under-represented in shortlisted candidates.
The report said: “It is clear from the data that there are significant racial inequalities throughout the teaching profession in Scotland from teacher training courses and recruitment to representation and discrimination in the sector.
“Current approaches are not doing enough to address this, locally or nationally.
“The Scottish Government must commit to tackling this issue with a robust approach informed by the experience of BME people and organisations.”
The latest report comes after research published by the Scottish Liberal Democrats showed there were only two headteachers from an ethnic minority background in Scotland.
In addition, only 18 out of a total of 5,400 principal teachers were from a black or minority ethnic background.
BME groups constitute at least four per cent of the Scottish population.
Tavish Scott, education spokesman for the Scottish Liberal Democrats, called on the Scottish Government to take action.
He said: “The government urgently need to attract more people into the teaching profession.
“As part of this approach there must be a concerted effort to boost diversity at all levels of teaching.”
The coalition report found the most significant discrepancy between the BME population and the proportion of BME teachers was within the most ethnically diverse local authorities of Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen and East Renfrewshire.
The report added: “In some Scottish schools there are significant numbers of pupils from minority ethnic communities, yet there appear to be very few teachers from these communities.
“It is clear that there are still barriers that young people from these communities face, especially those whose families are second or third generation residents of Scotland, that make teaching less attractive or possible as a career for them.”
The report concluded that key barriers including “dissuasion” from the teaching profession from family pressure and career guidance as well as “potential discrimination” in career pathways.
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