After all, data from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has shown that teachers in Scotland spend far more time teaching than those in most other countries for which data is available. A 2019 OECD analysis of 24 countries found that, at lower-secondary level, teachers spent, on average, 43 per cent of their working time on teaching. In several countries, it was 35 per cent or less. In Scotland, it was 63 per cent.

The Scottish government has, however, been rather evasive and non-committal about when the policy would become a reality, and has faced political opposition. It seems like one of those policies designed to curry favour with an important block of voters – in this case, teachers – before much thought has been given to how it could actually be realised.

Want to see more SNP fails? – Politics Matters