Greer steps up criticism of Scot Gov school changes as unwanted, unnecessary & risky
Ross Greer MSP, Education spokesperson for the Scottish Greens, used today's Holyrood Education debate to step up his criticism of the Scottish Government's school governance changes as unwanted, unnecessary and risky.
The Greens have consistently argued that the real challenge in education is the result of ten years of budget cuts, thousands of teaching and support staff and much of their resources now gone. The Scottish Government’s proposals do not address this.
The proposed structural changes, bypassing local authorities and creating new regional bodies, are not supported by the responses to the Government's own consultation or expert evidence and represent a significant centralisation of power to Scottish ministers and those accountable to them.
Ross Greer MSP said:
"Budget cuts are the biggest problem in our schools and changing structures does nothing to improve this. This is the overwhelming feedback of teachers, parents and education experts to the government’s consultation. They simply are not listening. Their Next Steps report on education reform charges full-steam ahead, against the express wishes of those directly involved in education.
“Proposals to empower headteachers will only increase their unmanageable workload at a time when they have far fewer staff to support them. They are simply a smokescreen for this power grab by the Scottish Government.
"It seems that the only people supportive of the Government’s agenda are the Conservatives. Greens urge the Government to address the real barriers raised repeatedly by teaching and support staff and by parents and pupils. They are, of course, budget cuts and staffing issues.
"We can invest in education; it is the government’s choice if they instead pursue deeply unpopular reforms which will not improve the situation."