Cash-strapped schools have condemned plans to spend more than £250,000 on academic research instead of saving teachers' jobs.

Education chiefs want to spend £262,000 funding a three-year-long political study at Essex University - enough to pay ten top-level teachers' salaries for a year.

But the plan has come in for criticism at a time when teachers' jobs are under threat as Essex County Council struggles to balance the books.

Union bosses say the cash should be used to safeguard teaching posts.

An NUT spokesman said: "This money could provide ten or more teachers in our schools. I am sure there are other bodies capable of doing similar research and it doesn't need Essex County Council to pump money into it.

"The money could be better directed, better targeted and better spent."

Ted Rowley, who chairs the Essex Association of Secondary Headteachers, said he had not been told about the proposals.

"I don't want to rush to condemn, but it is strange timing when secondary schools in particular are facing dramatic cuts," said Mr Rowley, who is headteacher at Witham's John Bramston school.

"It is for members of the county council to decide how they should spend taxpayers' money and there may be a perfectly satisfactory rationale for this decision

"But it seems a very strange thing to be doing when schools are facing a very difficult financial climate and the government has told councils to put money into schools.

"Obviously I would rather they put it into my school over three years but I don't suppose that's an option."

The cash would be used to fund a professor to research constitutional changes such as the Scottish parliament and national assemblies in Ireland and Wales.

The university will be responsible for indirect costs totalling £133,000 for the same period. After the three years, it will take over the whole costs of the chair although it will still continue to carry the Essex County Council title.

An appointment is expected to be made before the new academic year after the post is advertised nationally.

Converted for the new archive on 19 November 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.