Two of the Scottish government’s own education advisers have taken to social media to hit out at the decision to withdraw funding support for teachers who engage in master’s-level learning, saying that professional learning is “even more vital in challenging times” and that it has a big impact on student outcomes.

The letter says the decision has been made “against a challenging financial position” and that there are “several pressures on budgets.

Responding to the news – first reported in The Herald – Professor Graham Donaldson, the former head of the schools’ inspectorate in Scotland and now one of the government’s team of international education advisers, said in a tweet that the decision was “very disappointing”.

He added: “Professional learning is even more vital in challenging times. Stark contrast to Wales’s support for Masters!”

Want to see more SNP fails? – Politics Matters