The Scottish Conservatives have called a parliamentary debate in which they will call for “respect for Scotland’s teachers” and paint a picture of an education system in serious decline.
In the Scottish Parliament tomorrow afternoon, the party will accuse the Scottish government of “dismal” treatment of teachers and demand “zero tolerance” of attacks on school staff.
The debate will coincide with the first of two days of strike action by the Scottish Secondary Teachers’ Association (SSTA) and the NASUWT teaching union. Members of the EIS teaching union took strike action on 24 November, with a further 16 days planned in the new year.
Tomorrow’s debate is titled “The state of the Scottish education system”, and Scottish Tory education spokesperson Stephen Kerr today described the SNP’s record on education as “dismal”.
He said: “While pupils have been badly damaged by the SNP’s failures, their inaction and lack of support is also having a major detrimental impact on teachers themselves.
“On the SNP’s watch, job security for teachers is reducing, while ministers are failing to take a zero-tolerance approach towards the shocking number of attacks on them and classroom assistants in our schools.”
Mr Kerr added: “Teachers feel abandoned by the SNP government and morale has hit rock bottom. It is little wonder that, against this backdrop, teachers have gone on strike for the first time in almost four decades in Scotland.”
Education secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville said: “We greatly value the teaching workforce and the vital role it has in educating our future generations. Violence is never acceptable and the safety of pupils and staff is paramount.
“Scotland has more teachers now than any other time since 2008, with more teachers per pupil than any other part of the UK.”
The motion from Mr Kerr for tomorrow’s debate states that “the people of Scotland have been let down by the undermining of an education system of which they were once proud”, blaming “badly drawn reform, inaction and a failure to innovate”.
It calls on the government to “urgently outline a new education plan with a focus on respect for Scotland’s teachers, opportunities for its young people and growth for the whole sector, so that education in Scotland can once again be the best gift for its children”.
