By Jenny McBain
MINISTERS are not doing enough to support Gaelic education and it should be enshrined in law to safeguard the language’s future, according to a leading academic.
Currently there is legislative provision for Gaelic medium education in Scotland’s schools but this does not translate into a statutory right.
The 2017 Statutory Guidance on Gaelic education clearly states that, ‘parents of children under school age have a right to request an assessment of the need for Gaelic medium primary education from the education authority in whose area their child lives’.
But according to Wilson McLeod, Professor of Gaelic at the University of Edinburgh this is not strong enough and allows councils to opt-out of teaching it.
Now he wants ministers to act more ‘forcibly’ in ensuring more schools teach it and also get more Gaelic-speaking teachers trained to deal with chronic shortages.
He said: “I think Gaelic Medium Education should be promoted more forcibly. “One of the most controversial areas in Gaelic for a long time is the fact that there isn’t a legal right to Gaelic education so when push comes to shove councils don’t have to do anything and that allows them to not prioritise it very much.”
In the last 40 years the number of Gaelic speakers in Scotland has declined by around a third and there are currently just under 60,000 people who speak the language. Meanwhile, increasing numbers of parents in Scotland are choosing a bilingual education for their children which is only available in Gaelic. Professor McLeod added:”The reason GME exists is to support the maintenance and development of Gaelic language, so that people will learn Gaelic and then use Gaelic and contribute to the survival and development of the language community- that is why it is there and to me that is the most important aspect of it.”
Since a change in educational policy in 2020, parents in the Western Isles have to opt out of GME for their children, rather than opt in which has led to a rise in numbers.
But there is also currently a Gaelic teacher shortage in Scotland which is particularly acute when it comes to qualified GME primary school teachers. Even the Glasgow Gaelic School has a long waiting list of families wanting places. There are plans to open a Gaelic Medium Secondary School in Edinburgh.
But such schools lead to further staffing issues because teachers need subject expertise in subjects such as maths and physics as well as Gaelic language skills. When it comes to providing Gaelic classes in mainstream secondary schools only 7 out of 32 local authorities do so.
Prof Mcleod said:”It would be hard to implement but my view is that it would seriously focus minds of those decision makers. “It would ensure that Gaelic would receive priority because you see again and again that it does not. “Three or 4 years ago the Scottish Parliament had an investigation into teacher supply issues in Scotland, teacher shortages and so on. The report ran to 68 pages and Gaelic didn’t get mentioned at all. “Whereas if there was situation where every local authority felt we’ve got this legal obligation these people are breathing down our necks all the time we’ve got legal liability on this, it would get it to the top of the agenda.”
A Scottish Government spokesman said: “We are aware of both the need to recruit teachers of Gaelic and to provide good quality support for them in their schools. “The General Teaching Council of Scotland, Education Scotland and Bòrd na Gàidhlig continue to work closely with councils to identify teachers who would be interested in support to transfer to Gaelic teaching and training courses are available at Sabhal Mòr Ostaig, Glasgow University and Lews Castle College.”
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel