Edinburgh Sucks! | What about the children?

Jack McConnell

What about the children?

By The Basa ⋅ November 14, 2005 ⋅

The children of Scotland are the future of Scotland. Nobody denies that. What is it today, the figures show thousands of children are failing to achieve basic levels of numeracy and literacy.

Why is this happening and why is the Scottish Executive refusing to publish the data that was paid for by the polulation of Scotland. What makes it even worse, is that more money has to be spent, every time someone asks using FOI for these figures. MSPs just don’t realise that they are spending OUR MONEY not theirs and if they spend our money on putting together data, we own it!

The statistics leave a lot to be desired for a Parliament that keeps shouting about how good they are:

In Edinburgh, performance ranged from the excellent, like Blackhall Primary which recorded a 100 per cent success rate for reading, 75 per cent for writing and 89 per cent for maths, to the very poor, like Pirniehall Primary which managed to get only 36 per cent of its pupils to the minimum standard of reading and writing and 55 per cent for maths.

Our Education Minister, who has proven he is the one in need of an education tells us that “that such comparisons are unfair and misleading ” so why does he not supply us with data that is not unfair and misleading - does he require a teacher to show him how?

Our dodgy First Minister who releases daily spin easier than he indeed breathes has to take control of how our children and educated.

Scotland are rated third in OECD (developed) countries, but there was a time when a Scottish education was the best in the world. Those days must return and return quickly.

Tina Woolnough, head of Parents in Partnership, said: “A whole generation of children is being let down badly. The Executive is going to have to act on these figures and find out what is going so badly wrong. Level D is not rocket science - it is competence. This culture of low expectation, which uses deprivation as an excuse, has got to change.”

More Info: Primary schools failing thousands
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