A HUGE drop in the number of teachers from European countries applying to work in Scotland has sparked fears it will “only exacerbate” the worsening school recruitment crisis.

Figures show only 14 teachers from other EU countries and Switzerland applied for registration in Scotland in the first six months of this year.

This compares to 186 last year, 159 the year before and 128 in 2015.

Ken Muir, chief executive of the General Teaching Council of Scotland (GTCS), said applications were “falling off a cliff” and placed the blame firmly with Brexit.

He told Holyrood magazine: "Having maintained numbers pretty high from the EU, they are falling off a cliff, and that's absolutely down to Brexit.

"Particularly from three countries in the EU, Greece, Poland and Spain, we get a good number of applicants, followed by the Republic of Ireland it has to be said – those four are our big hitters, and those numbers have dwindled to next to nothing."

The overall number of applicants from outside Scotland has also plummeted, with only 126 in the first half of 2018 – compared to 598 last year and 614 the year before.

A spokeswoman for the EIS – Scotland’s biggest teaching union – insisted teachers from other countries “are a valuable part of the Scottish education workforce, reflecting the society we live in”.

She added: “This reported drop in applications can only exacerbate the ongoing teacher recruitment crisis.”

Research by the Herald last summer showed there were more than 700 unfilled teacher vacancies before the start of term, with the shortfall blamed on a rise in numbers quitting the profession early and historic under-recruitment.

And earlier this year it emerged a teaching post in the north of Scotland had been advertised six times by desperate council bosses – attracting just two applicants.

The latest figures came as teaching unions threatened to strike later this year amid an ongoing dispute over pay.

Scottish ministers said the dramatic drop in EU teachers demonstrated the urgent need for migration powers to be devolved, allowing Scotland to tailor policies to its needs.

Deputy First Minister John Swinney said: “These figures show the stark reality of Brexit. Already highly-skilled and hard-working EU citizens are thinking twice about choosing to live and teach in Scotland which will not only have a negative impact on the education workforce but our economy and society as a whole.

“Last year we had citizens from almost every EU member country applying for GTCS registration but, so far this year, citizens from just six countries have applied to live and work in Scotland. And the head of the GTCS – the independent body that registers teachers – has today made plain that Brexit is driving this slump.”

Scottish Labour’s education spokesman Iain Gray branded the figures “deeply worrying”.

He said teacher numbers had already plummeted under the SNP Government, and referenced a survey published last month which found a majority of teachers would not recommend the profession to others.

He added: “A collapse in the number of applications from abroad as a result of the Tories’ shambolic handling of Brexit will only make this SNP teacher recruitment crisis worse.”

Ross Greer, the Scottish Greens’ education spokesman, said teachers are “overworked and under-resourced”, adding: “This is yet another way in which Brexit, which Scotland overwhelmingly rejected, is already damaging our society.”

A UK Government spokeswoman said: "We deeply value the contribution of all EU citizens working in the UK’s education systems, they are vital to the future of our children and valued members of society.

"After we leave the EU, we will have in place an immigration system which works in the best interests of the whole of the UK, including Scotland.

"Freedom of movement will end and we be will creating an immigration system that delivers control over who comes to the UK, but that welcomes the brightest and best who want to work hard and contribute."