The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)

Swinney has failed schools

- Jenny Hjul

In handing the education portfolio to John Swinney, by all accounts one of the most able SNP politician­s, it seemed Nicola Sturgeon was committed to making schools a priority. But any hopes the rest of us had that here, at last, was a minister who had the clout and the talent to fix Scotland’s failing education system were soon dashed.

Swinney, like his many less accomplish­ed predecesso­rs, from other parties and his own, was not a match for this country’s entrenched educationa­l establishm­ent, which includes its public bodies and its unions.

Some of us have long complained about the way school standards in Scotland have been allowed to plummet, particular­ly in the most deprived areas, while reforms elsewhere in the UK have brought improvemen­ts.

Such criticism, even when it has come from the most respected experts, such as Edinburgh University’s Professor Lindsay Paterson or Dundee’s Professor Jim Scott, has been batted aside by successive ministers.

Those in power were selectivel­y deaf to repeated warning bells about a botched curriculum, scarcity of teachers and dwindling opportunit­ies for generation­s of schoolchil­dren.

Now, a damning report by Holyrood’s cross-party education committee makes it impossible for the Scottish Government to continue in its complacenc­y. The committee, led by the SNP’s Clare Adamson, began to investigat­e Scotland’s secondary school system following research last year by Professor Scott.

He found that the inaptly named Curriculum for Excellence had reduced S4 pupils’ subjects to six from eight, restrictin­g their choices at Higher and Advance Higher, resulting in a “collapse” in the numbers studying modern languages and STEM subjects such as maths, science and computing.

The committee, which heard evidence from teachers, academics, parents and pupils, not only agreed with Professor Scott’s findings that the curriculum is threatenin­g children’s prospects, but identified the main culprits. Both Education Scotland, the government schools quango, and the SQA (Scottish Qualificat­ions Authority) showed a “lack of clear leadership” and a “lack of awareness” about the extent of the problem, said the MSPs.

Education Scotland had displayed “alarming” ignorance about the curriculum and how it was implemente­d, and the agency was confused about its own responsibi­lities.

In the world of business or in most profession­al fields, those in a leadership role exposed as ignorant, confused and unable to lead would be sacked. The principles of the private sector must now be applied to the top tier of Education Scotland and the SQA.

Surely, in the face of such overwhelmi­ng evidence of failure from an impartial arbiter an overhaul of personnel is non-negotiable. Then the reforms can start in earnest.

The committee has recommende­d a review of the school years S4 to

S6, and Swinney has agreed to this, although there are already doubts about how independen­t it will be, since government agencies will still be involved.

But any review will be limited without the political drive for change, as Professor Scott wrote in a newspaper article this week, Swinney blamed schools, local authoritie­s and the national agencies for education failings. But he did not include his own role.

“Only government, however, can challenge councils and agencies and only government has had a clear view of all these issues,” said Professor Scott.

The current government, and minister, are not uniquely culpable for Scotland’s schools crisis. The Curriculum for Excellence was introduced in 2010, conceived before the SNP took office that year, but thereafter mismanaged by Nationalis­t education department­s.

That is nearly 10 years to get it right – or wrong, as this week’s report appears to have concluded. Sad to say, but Swinney must be moved out of the education brief.

But that will certainly not solve the problem, which runs far deeper. Across Scotland, something is seriously defective in the way our biggest public services are being run. The ongoing infection and infrastruc­ture scandals in Glasgow’s new Queen Elizabeth University Hospital and the yet-to-open children’s hospital in Edinburgh would embarrass a third world nation.

To lose control of both the health and education systems in such spectacula­r fashion goes beyond individual ministeria­l incompeten­ce.

Where are the trusted bureaucrat­s, the career civil servants and dependable advisers? Are they frightened to take on the government when it makes bad decisions? The public doesn’t have the answers, but we must now ask the questions.

 ?? Kris Miller. Picture: ?? According to Dundee University’s Professor Jim Scott, John Swinney, pictured, blamed schools, local authoritie­s and the national agencies for education failings – but he did not include his own role.
Kris Miller. Picture: According to Dundee University’s Professor Jim Scott, John Swinney, pictured, blamed schools, local authoritie­s and the national agencies for education failings – but he did not include his own role.
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