Scottish ministers will claw back funds from councils for extra teachers if they push ahead with plans to cut posts.
Education secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville confirmed the financial sanction amid a row with councils over how they will balance their budgets.
Labour MSP Michael Marra said the policy amounted to “fines instead of finance”.
As revealed by the Daily Record, Glasgow City Council is considering reducing teaching posts by 800 in a bid to fill a massive black hole.
It follows claims that the Holyrood funding settlement for councils is pushing them into cutting jobs.
But the SNP/Green Government is opposed to cuts in this area as it has provided councils with extra money for new teachers.
In a statement to MSPs, Somerville revealed a plan for punishing councils that do not maintain increased teacher numbers and support staff.
She said the Government would “withhold or recoup” funds provided for new teachers in these circumstances.
She also revealed regulations would be introduced to set a statutory minimum number of school hours. Part of the Glasgow plan was to close schools early on a Friday.
The Scottish Government has committed to increasing teacher numbers by 3,500 during this Parliament.
Somerville said: “The measures I have outlined today demonstrate our unyielding commitment to closing the attainment gap and making Scotland the best place in the world to grow up.
"We are committed to recruiting more teachers and support staff, and we have already provided significant additional funding to Local Authorities to help ensure this happens.
“The Scottish Government recognises the challenging budgetary decisions facing councils and that is why the Deputy First Minister has committed to delivering a new deal for local government. However, this Government has a clear commitment to improving education – and maintaining both teacher and support staff numbers and learning hours is crucial to that.”
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