By George Brexit chaos may affect students
As Paisley’s kids went back to school last week, I am sure many parents and guardians were breathing a sign of relief as they packed lunches, ironed uniforms and waved goodbye to their children, marking another school year and an end to the summer holidays.
While I’m sure we’ve all enjoyed having the kids’ home for the past six weeks and the opportunity to spend some solid time together as a family, the holidays are often hard on us adults both mentally and financially.
I remember it well when my two were young and the outstretched hands looking for yet another £5 for ice cream or activities seemed endless.
We all want the best for our young people and it is challenging when we feel as though we can’t give them everything they want.
With this in mind, I am concerned about the implications of Brexit and how a decision Scotland largely did not make will directly affect the young people of this country moving forward.
One area of concern that has come to light in the past week is the Erasmus+ programme.
The international exchange programme grants students across Europe the opportunity to study and learn in any participating country and between 2014 and 2018, more than 15,000 students and staff from Scotland reaped the benefits of the EU-led scheme.
However, leaving the EU without a deal would see universities, colleges and schools across the UK ineligible to submit applications to participate in the final year of the current Erasmus+ programme in 2020.
This would have massive ramifications for students already enrolled in the scheme and those heading into further education hoping to follow in the footsteps of friends who have enjoyed the programme in the past.
Perhaps even more disturbing is the realisation that if October 31 comes around and Mr Johnson hasn’t agreed a deal, the UK Government could consider the programme moving forward for England only.
Thousands of Scottish students benefit from Erasmus+ yearly, proportionally more than from any other country in the UK, so it is alarming to hear the UK Department for Education could be considering an Erasmus+ replacement programme for England only.
Frankly, I think is this is an absolute disgrace and it is unacceptable that in the event of a damaging ‘no-deal’ Brexit, our young people could now see the door to this fantastic cultural and educational exchange slammed shut.
I must admit I am not altogether surprised given the way Westminster have handled things so far and their continued disregard for Scotland, what we voted for and what we want.
Just last week, Liz Truss – former Chief Secretary to the Treasury – was caught red-handed peddling ‘intentionally misleading’ assertions after the Tory minister was rebuked by the official statistics watchdog for her ‘incorrect’ claims over hundreds of millions of pounds due to Scotland’s budget.
Not only were we blatantly lied to and mislead during the 2014 independence referendum and then again during the Brexit campaign, the Tories continue to spout inaccuracies to the public and spread lies to the Scottish people.
This is not okay and I am pleased to see Ms Truss being called out for what can only be described as yet another deplorable attempt by Westminster to talk down Scotland.
In stark contrast to the UK government, the Scottish Government is building a progressive system based on the foundations of strengthening our economy, protecting our vital public services and the lower paid.
I don’t know about you but with less than 12 weeks to go until the UK Government plans to take us out of the EU without an agreement in place, I think it’s about time we shone a torch on the manipulations of a Government who still clearly have no idea what their doing.