Sturgeon must see Swinney is bottom of the class

FIRST Minister Nicola Sturgeon’s demand that the people of Scotland should judge her on her stewardship of the education system looks more reckless by the day.

For all her talk of wanting to drive up standards, Ms Sturgeon’s record should be marked as a giant fail. Standards in literacy and numeracy remain worryingly low and if there has been any narrowing of the so-called attainment gap that’s because the brightest pupils are doing less well than they once were. Levelling down is in no child’s interest.

Ms Sturgeon’s appointment of John Swinney as Education Secretary was supposed to make a difference.

It certainly has but perhaps not in the way the First Minister might have hoped. Mr Swinney presided over the absolute chaos of this year’s exam results, displaying an incompetence that has shredded his reputation.

Now it emerges that he has failed miserably to deliver on his promise to hire 1400 new teachers in the wake of the pandemic. Almost two weeks after Scottish pupils began returning to their classrooms, a little over half that number have been recruited.

We are bound to say that this latest botched job is unsurprising. Ms Sturgeon may talk the talk across a range of policies but the truth is that her focus is her plan to break up the UK.

Scottish Government ministers take no decisions without first considering the consequences for their separation plans. Necessary actions are delayed for fear of rocking the separatist boat.

Doubtless, Nicola Sturgeon and John Swinney will continue to proclaim their determination to improve Scotland’s education system but the reality remains that they put their independence plans before everything else.