Scottish Government’s politicising is destroying all faith in education system

The relentless politicisation of the Scottish education system under the SNP Government has undermined pupils’, parents’ and teachers’ confidence in examination results and access to university.

For years we experienced a year-on-year rise in the pass rates, overall number of passes and quality of grades. Now that we are aware that in reality our education system was actually deteriorating in rela- tion to other countries, including the rest of the UK, we are now told that results this year are holding steady.

Does anyone believe that the previous rises were anything other than politically motivated, to “prove” that Curriculum for Excellence was a success?

Does anyone believe that this year’s “holding steady” is anything other than the only politically possible outcome, given the public’s awareness of the actual decline in standards?

University entrance is similarly subject to political manipulation. Scotland has the least inclusive higher education system in the UK, with only half the percentage of economically deprived youngsters attaining a university place compared to England.

Again, as the public has become increasingly aware of this less than progressive statistic, the number of poorer students has suddenly increased. This ought to be a source of satisfaction to all concerned, but sadly, this has been achieved at the expense of more advantaged students. The SNP cap on places has ensured that one group’s success is at the expense of another.

Are students who fail to attain a place confident that they have been fairly treated on the basis of qualifications, and not on the basis of their socio-economic status? How demoralising must it be to consider that hard work might be undermined by considerations for which the young person has absolutely no responsibility?

It will be very difficult to rebuild confidence in the education system. The Scottish Government is abandoning the annual surveys of literacy and numeracy, presumably because they have delivered bad news on an annual basis.

They have withdrawn from international comparisons for the same reason. Without a return to these objective assessment systems, confidence in the Scottish education system will remain at a very low level. CAROLE FORD former president School Leaders Scotland, Terregles Avenue, Glasgow