Staff at a Fife College are preparing to strike over the use of unqualified teachers in Scotland’s prisons.

Lecturers at Carnegie College are responsible for education in seven prisons across Scotland.

On Thursday they will walk out over plans to reduce the number of qualified lecturers working with prisoners.

The college wants to change the way the education is given to prisoners, which will see unqualified staff replacing lecturers.

EIS General Secretary Ronnie Smith said, "Lecturers are staging this day of strike action in protest at cost-cutting plans by Carnegie College that would have a serious and detrimental impact on the quality of the Prison Education Service.

“Cutting the involvement of highly-qualified lecturers and replacing them with cheaper unqualified staff would reduce the standard of education that is delivered to prisoners, with serious implications for prisoners' programmes of rehabilitation.

"This is purely a cost-cutting move by the college, with financial savings being put ahead of the need to ensure an appropriate high-quality education service within Scotland's prisons. Having recently successfully tendered for the contract to provide prisoner education in the east of Scotland, Carnegie College is now cutting back on costs and cutting corners on what they have pledged to provide."