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Raymond Robertson, Scottish Office minister for education, has announced cuts in intakes to both primary and secondary teacher training courses, warning newly qualified teachers that there is continuing evidence of oversupply. Mr Robertson proposes cutting intakes to the four-year primary BEd degree from 800 to 700, while the one-year secondary postgraduate course will be cut from 960 to 800. Intakes to combined courses, where a secondary teaching qualification is combined with another subject, will be increased from 115 to 175. Reductions are likely to exacerbate funding difficulties in the three remaining free-standing colleges of education.