Thursday 3 April 2008

Gnats go to bottom of class

The Herald reports this morning that schools across Scotland are having to cut their budgets as a result of the council tax freeze brought in by the Gnat administration.

I have blogged about this before, but it is worth noting the scale of the cuts involved. In The Herald report, they say that the cuts amount to an average of £70,000 per secondary school.

Despite what the Cosla spokesperson says, there is no way that such cuts can be passed off as 'efficiency savings'. It is the equivalent of at least two teaching posts per school and the effects will be seen in larger class sizes, fewer subjects being offered or teachers having to work outside their subject areas.

I also wonder what the effects will be on new school building programmes or on the maintenance of existing ones. Too many schools operate in inadequate conditions and it doesn't seem to me that the Gnats have any real idea how to address this issue.

Unless the Gnats change course, education in Scotland is likely to continue to struggle.

No comments:

Liberal Democrat Blogs