Query over why Indian was refused council job

An Indian student’s colour was not the reason he failed to land a job with Stirlingshire County Council.

The comment was made by the council’s further education subcommittee convener, Mr Frank Crawford from Airth.

He was referring at an education committee meeting to the decision not to employ the Indian student as a school librarian. “If he had the qualifications this man would have had the job,” said Mr Crawford.

Rev Alexander Cameron (Slamannan) asked that the Scottish

Education Department (SED) be contacted to find out whether the qualifications held by the applicant were suitable for the job. In his view, the subcommittee should have done more than just take advice from the Library Association, which was `just another vested interest.’

As the SED paid part of the salary for the post they should have been consulted, he added.

Mr Cameron had first asked for reconsideration of the decision not to appoint the student, commenting: “It is very unfortunate that this is a man of colour.” Mr Crawford said in addition to consulting the Library Association, they had also contacted the place in England where the student was working in a temporary capacity and discovered the qualifications he held were “not suitable”. Education committee chairman Mr Peter Symon said the sub-committee had “no other option” but to accept the conditions they had laid down some years ago concerning the qualifications of school librarians.