Gilruth failed as education secetary - will her replacement do any better? |
Jenny Gilruth’s appointment as Education Secretary in March 2023 was met with considerable optimism, and no wonder: her predecessors (including the current First Minister) had been failures in the role, and the education system felt like it was reaching breaking point.
As a former teacher, it was hoped that Gilruth would have a proper understanding of the complexity of the brief and would also act as a voice for the profession at the highest level of government.
The reality turned out to be one of disappointment and failure.
As the Herald reported a few weeks ago, the SNP have an appalling record with respect to their manifesto promises around education.
In 2021 the party’s election manifesto made more than 20 specific, individual promises. Just five of these were delivered, and one of those was only achieved because a Tory MSP forced through a members bill which the SNP threatened to block.
The biggest failure concerns teachers’ class contact time. The party promised to reduce this by 90 minutes per week in order to give Scotland’s teachers (who get less preparation time than educators in almost every other comparable country) more space to do the things that might actually enhance the quality of teaching in schools.
No such reduction was delivered, and over the course of the parliament it became painfully clear that the SNP hadn’t really bothered thinking about the nuts and bolts of their promise until it was far too late. As a result, the country faced the prospect........