THE battle between the Government and teachers over the Higher Still programme intensified last night with an attack by a leading union official, writes Chris Holme.

Ian McCalman, former president of the Educational Institute of Scotland, urged its members to give a resounding yes to a total boycott of the programme when they are balloted next week.

Addressing a meeting in Glasgow, he said: ''Teachers and lecturers will not stand by and allow young people to be sold short through attempts to deliver a Higher Still programme which is nowhere near ready in most of our schools and colleges.''

Mr McCalman, convener of the union's finance and general purposes committee, said the changes proposed by the Government were too important to be allowed to go ahead with inadequate preparation.

''If we get it wrong, a generation of students will suffer the consequences for their future educational and career prospects,'' he said.

Education minister Helen Liddell has allocated #24m in extra funding in an effort to meet teachers' concerns, but has indicated that there is no further money available.

But Mr McCalman said Government assurances on funding had, to date, been insufficient to meet the needs of schools and colleges as they struggled to prepare the introduction of Higher Still next summer.

''Funding is desperately needed so that each and every teacher and lecturer likely to be involved in the programme has adequate training in the run-up period to implementation,'' he said.

''They must have assurances that their classes will be properly covered while they are involved in training and preparation for the new courses. Materials and equipment must be in place well in advance of implementation date. To achieve this, there has to be money up front and soon.''

That process was not helped, he said, by the Government's plan for a process of bidding by schools before funds were released.

Mr McCalman said schools and colleges were not all at the same stage of preparedness and this should be recognised by allowing phased introduction.

The EIS met Mrs Liddell and Scottish Secretary Donald Dewar on Wednesday to address, as a matter of urgency, the practical concerns of teachers. He stressed the Government had to ''act quickly and decisively if Higher Still is to go ahead.''

Last night, David Hutchison, president of the Scottish School Board Association, called for flexibility on both sides to ensure Higher Still was introduced on time.

He said the reform had already been delayed twice, and a further postponement would be totally unacceptable to parents. It was up to the Government to allay teachers' concerns about resources and money.

''The momentum is there and the expectation is there. We must not let down another group of children and keep holding back Scottish education from its rightful place as one of the best in the world. Postponing the programme again will not protect the interests of our young people. Higher Still must be introduced in August, 1999.''