Letters to the editor

Time to take the politics out of education

Sir, - Just about the worst thing that could happen following the publication of the Pisa results is yet another outburst of party-political bickering and point scoring.

Scotland’s education system is not in a bad place – the Pisa result place us as average.

Rather than seeing ourselves in some kind of terminal decline, I would prefer that we see average as the stepping-off point to get us to great or excellent.

But first we need to have honesty in our analysis of how we have reached this point and then put in place evidence supporting changes.

Here’s my starter for 10.

Teaching used to be one of the most respected professions in Scotland.

It is significant that in those countries at the top end of the Pisa research teaching and the teacher profession has developed that status.

We should aim to attract the very best talent and graduates into teaching.

We’ve got to give teachers a fair chance.

The Scottish Government has made progress in this area by focusing on early years.

This needs more investment in pre-birth, parenting and early child development.

Linked to this are issues of equity and poverty, where Scotland scores poorly.

Until this is addressed our potential will not be realised.

Where they are responsible the Scottish Government should hold their hands up.

Workforce planning has been poor.

The unavoidable fact is that there is a significant teacher shortage, and has been for at least five years, and in some subject areas – the ones used by Pisa (English, maths and science), the shortage is concerning.

The negative impact of this cannot be overstated as it impacts on other teachers and on the bureaucracy of all teachers.

Head teachers are diverted from focusing on teaching to finding cover, which impacts on the learning experience.

All evidence suggests the focus needs to be on school leadership and the quality of teaching.

We need to free up head teachers and teachers to hone their skills by sharing good practice.

As things stand there are far too many barriers and distractions.

I understand the political pressure on the Scottish Government around Scottish education. But rather than focus on radical reform, as the education secretary appears to be suggesting, I would urge the Scottish Government to focus on addressing the above issues.

One other feature of those countries that are towards the higher end of the Pisa scale is the absence of political wrangling and of using education as a political football.

I hope the Scottish Government and the opposition parties take note. Councillor Bryan Poole. 49 Wemyss Place, South Road, Cupar.