SNP, the Political Party that failed Scottish kids; International tests see record low results for Scottish school pupils, Scotland was famous for the enlightenment, well the lights are going out under the SNP, and the children of Scotland are paying the ‘forever bill’ of a lost generation, their future has been robbed from them, a bitter pill for parents to swallow

Dear All

Once Scottish education was held up as a beacon of excellence, and rightly so, Scotland had not just world class universities but also world class schools. Scotland has done much to invent the modern world as we know it.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scottish_inventions_and_discoveries

Without Scots churning out ideas, our world wouldn’t be as we know it, so we have a proud history to look back on, but after 12 years of SNP rule at Holyrood, we as a country are going backwards. It would be simple to just write off what is been done and neglected and just tag it as stupidity. The SNP have used the government machine as a vehicle not for improvements to our society but for independence campaigning. If there is a price for stupidity, the ordinary Scot has more than paid that particular bill in full. Right across the board, we are failing as a country and as a people.

This is entirely due to the SNP leadership.

In the big departments of state, health education and law and order, the shameful neglect of policy is replaced by short term vision, no real objectives and sound bites. The Scottish NHS makes the news because of failures, failure to manage, failure to treat and failure to accept responsibility.  As to law and order, when Nicola Sturgeon put Humza Yousaf in charge, the joke was verging on too much, it seems membership of the Sturgeon cabal was the only qualification for high office.

When the SNP brought in ‘curriculum for excellence’ it almost seemed that the SNP leadership where intent in destroying the life chances of Scottish kids on an industrial scale. The facts speak for themselves; those at the bottom of society who needed education as the lifeline to escape poverty were having that pulled away from them. CoE has been a disaster, it was known it was a disaster, but the SNP leadership had this pressed ahead by education chiefs as they sat back.

So, why does the SNP want a country of underachievers?

I would suggest the answer is simple; they need this as a reason to push for control of immigration, in this way they can make the case for skilled immigrants such as doctors, dentists and engineers. But, and there is always a ‘but’, we would also get a criminal element in an SNP immigration free for all. The SNP with a low educated population would also see to create division, rather than accept they are to blame, they would blame Westminster. Some people have bought into this nonsense, just as they bought into the lie that the Scottish NHS was under threat of being sold off to the Americans.

The SNP leadership are the enemies of stability, peace, advancement and opportunity in Scotland, no amount of fake ‘nationalist anger explodes’ crap can hide this in the mist of deception. The truth of failure in education is factual, international education tests have reported record low results in science and maths among Scottish school pupils. Scotland, the country that built the modern world, now produces kids with such poor education, we would be lucky to see them construct a shed in the back garden. When we look at key indicators, we find that pupils are performing substantially worse in all three subjects of reading, maths and science than they did in 2000.

Scotland is a country moving backwards because we elected stupid people to political office who either don’t listen, don’t grasp or don’t comprehend what experts are telling them to advance the abilities of our kids. Given the SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon isn’t interested in kids unless they are a prop for a photo op, is it any surprise that efforts to close the attainment gap between rich and poor pupils appear to have stalled?

I have been blogging for years regarding how Scottish kids from disadvantaged backgrounds are being shut out of getting higher education. We keep getting fobbed off by the SNP leadership and people like Universities Scotland, the mouthpiece of the universities that they are doing their best. Clearly this is just sound bites to deflect media attention because return to the status quo.

Where exactly are the champions of the poor in the SNP Government?

They don’t exist!

Education Secretary John Swinney said the results were “very encouraging” and stressed PISA only shows part of the picture, Swinney has been a disaster in education, he doesn’t know what he is doing, and he doesn’t have the will to act. When Swinney went from finance to education, I thought he wouldn’t understand it, the concept what was needed, an education system where pupils had the ability to break down subjects because they had been taught the most important skill that everyone should learn. What is that skill?

The skill is the ability to analyze.

https://www.thebalancecareers.com/analytical-skills-list-2063729

The ability to analyse is what famous Scottish inventors had, with the ability to investigate a problem and find the ideal solution in a timely, efficient manner. This is what is needed at the heart of every Scottish kid’s education.

Scottish Conservative education spokeswoman Liz Smith said:

“This is damning evidence revealing the full extent of the SNP’s shameful 12 years running down Scotland’s schools. Nicola Sturgeon asked to be judged on education. This summer saw the fourth consecutive year of decline in Higher pass rates and now the SNP is presiding over the worst ever PISA results in both maths and science. In reading, where it should be acknowledged that there is encouraging improvement since 2015, the score is still lower than the 2012 result and considerably lower than the score in 2000. Nicola Sturgeon’s obsession with a second divisive referendum has come at a high cost to our schools.

Performance in maths and science is absolutely vital for the future of Scotland's  economy and for industries such as engineering and IT”.

Smith added:

“These results are a humiliation for the SNP and they also mean that the potential of Scotland’s economy has been tarnished. After the last set of poor PISA results, the SNP said that the curriculum had to change. Yet these results are a new low and we know there have been many failings within the delivery of the Curriculum for Excellence. It is not just time to change the curriculum but also to change the government in Scotland.”

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie said the results were “appalling”.

He said:

“Scotland used to have one of the best education systems in the world, but under the SNP its now just average. Scottish teachers have been messed about for too long. John Swinney has refused to listen to them. Support in their classrooms has been cut to the bone and they simply don't believe in the policies being imposed on them, not least the national testing of four and five-year-olds. Nicola Sturgeon once claimed education was her top priority, but nobody is now in any doubt that the SNP will always put independence first no matter the cost. Their chief civil servant has warned another independence campaign will lead to the 'de-prioritisation' of domestic policy, but the SNP simply don't care about the damage and distraction it will cause.”

In what must be the most deluded excuse, SNP Education Sec John Swinney said:

“These are very encouraging results and the latest sign that our education reforms are working. Scottish schools are improving and this international study confirms that”.

Finally, when you find that pupils are performing substantially worse in all three subjects of reading, maths and science than they did in 2000, how can Swinney’s statement make sense. He is like Nero, fiddling while Rome burns down around him, Swinney isn’t a stupid man, I have met him, but I would say his cowardice in allowing this situation to continue because an inability to accept responsibility is rather damning. Scotland was also famous for the enlightenment, well the lights are going out, and the children of Scotland are paying the bill.

Yours sincerely

George Laird

The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University