Contradictory arguments on education

Sir, - Having read Allan MacDougall’s letter (March 10) I’m astonished how he managed to cram in contradiction, inconsistency, junk science, political grievance, indulge in class warfare and undertake to be economical with the truth all in a few hundred words.

It seems to be a nationalist trait. He blames Westminster for educational failures when education has been fully devolved and controlled by the SNP for 10 years then seems to suggest that somehow parents who choose to educate their children privately adversely affect the state system.

The fact is that parents who choose to pay for their children’s education remove that cost from the state and they also help state education by paying taxes.

Mr MacDougall went on to make the outrageous claim that intelligence is genetically inherited “and no amount of personal wealth can guarantee academic achievement” while insinuating that additional funding would actually improve educational achievements if Scotland could only borrow more.

Perhaps he also believes eugenics could solve Scotland’s educational problems.

A familiar ploy used by nationalists is the Scandinavian comparisons and in this case he used Finland as his educational role model.

He didn’t, of course, mention the fact that the Finnish suicide rate is twice that of the UK and that in international league tables, the UK has been rated the third best country to live in and Finland 13th.

Mr MacDougall’s sense that everything wrong in Scotland is as a result of being ‘shackled’ to Westminster seems incomprehensible if he can’t explain why being handcuffed to Brussels as the SNP longs for, has made no difference to the economic wellbeing of Greece, Spain or Portugal.

Iain G Richmond.

Guildy House, Monikie.