From Sturgeon on, SNP has failed the big test on education

The governments of Ms Sturgeon and her successors have failed to grasp the nettle of root and branch reform of school curricula and teacher training. Changing the SQA’s name is an exercise in deckchair rearrangement when what is needed is rigorous change to give those most in need of support the opportunities they need to lift them out of poverty. That is the prize that a good education offers. It is shameful that it isn’t universally available in Scotland.

Jill Stephenson, Edinburgh.

• WHEN Education Secretary Jenny Gilruth was asked on BBC Radio 4's Today programme about the SNP administration's failure to close the educational attainment gap, as demonstrated by this week's Highers' results, her Pavlovian response was to talk about the situation in England and Wales.

Scottish education has been the SNP's responsibility since 2007. Nicola Sturgeon famously insisted that we judge her by her record in education and, in particular, reducing the attainment gap (though these days we have so much else by which to judge her). Ms Sturgeon, of course, sadly utterly failed our young students, and Humza Yousaf and John Swinney continued in the same manner. The tragic reality is that, despite 17 years of virtue-signalling promises from the SNP, if you are born into a poorer background or neighbourhood in Scotland, it's still highly likely today, irrespective of your abilities, that you will have worse examination results than if you come from a middle-class background. The SNP has failed us in so many ways, but surely blighting the life chances of so many youngsters over such a protracted period is the most unforgivable.

Martin Redfern, Melrose.

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How far we have fallen

IT is deeply concerning to read the headlines relative to our system of education in Scotland today and to contemplate how far standards have been eroded. Indeed, how far we have fallen from the times when James Scotland concluded his The History of Scottish Education (1969) with the words "At its best the Scottish tradition in education has served the people of Scotland well". I wonder what he would make of it now.

Ian W Thomson, Lenzie.

The right thing to do is resign

THE attainment gap between the least deprived and most deprived has widened yet again and is now the lowest since 2007 as reported in today's edition of The Herald. You also report on the front page that there is yet another crisis with further ferry breakdown ("Ferry breaks down in new crisis", The Herald, August 7).

Meanwhile you report that SNP activists have proposed a motion about easing the rules on solar panels being installed on tenement buildings ("Ministers must cut solar panels obstacles, activists say", The Herald, August 7).

It's clear that both the party and its supporters have little grasp on what is important to the people of Scotland and the decent thing for the Scottish Government to do would be to resign and allow voters to decide who is best placed to govern the country.

Bill Eadie, Giffnock.

Inequality at the root of riots

AS the horror of street rioting and racial intimidation tarnishes further the UK's reputation, Denis Bruce (Letters, August 6) encapsulated the essence of what is wrong with the UK when he wrote about deregulation and the rise of individualism, which is undermining community cohesion.

Inequality is at the root of our problems. Happier countries share their wealth more evenly. The challenge, surely, for our governments at both Westminster and Holyrood is less about expanding economic growth and more about extending fairness, all the more so as AI increasingly threatens many current forms of employment. We need a simpler tax system that distributes the massive wealth of society's profits better, to enable rewarding lives, free from poverty and a caring society.

Other writers have suggested ways of ensuring profits made in this country contribute a fairer share of UK tax. In addition to these measures I would advocate for universal basic incomes to significantly reduce the need to apply for welfare payments, long-awaited reform of council tax based on land values and a requirement on new private developments to include payment for necessary public infrastructure.

Unfortunately, none of these will happen as, thanks to our divisive, short-term power-seeking politics, this kind of collectivism no longer resonates with the leadership of any of the main parties.

David Bruce, Troon.

Integration is key

RUTH Marr and I often disagree on many things but her wee story about her five-year-old son describing his new friend was just beautiful (Letters, August 7). It’s only adults who place adjectives to describe and define people who are different from us. Adults would probably describe the wee girl as part of the “Black Nigerian Scots community”.

Labelling hasn’t helped and the endless need to stick an adjective in front our nationality doesn’t help. This adjective is often based on colour or religion and only helps divide society.

The key to any successful immigration is, always, integration. This must not be confused with maintaining a culture or a language. We have had Italian, English, Irish, Chinese, Jewish, Indian, Pakistani, Polish at al who have integrated naturally but still maintain their heritage.

It is the failure to integrate that causes unrest and leads to all sorts of problems.

There have been claims that Scotland will not suffer the scale of civil unrest that’s happening across the UK. This may be correct but it’s largely due to the fact that none of our cities has any huge percentages of first or second generation immigrants all living in the same area.

The other factor that helps enormously with integration is inter-marriage of different faiths or cultures. It may be unacceptable for some and whilst I respect that, there’s no doubt that inter-marriage helps assimilation between cultures.

This why a properly controlled immigration plan is vital. We have to have housing and jobs available for any immigrants who come to the UK. The sooner people are happy with their home and their job the easier it is to integrate into any society.

John Gilligan, Ayr.

Sentence thugs to 10 years

I AM not a supporter of the Stop Oil protestors but I thought the recent sentence of five years for the blocking of a major road was a tad excessive. In the light of this sentence I should have thought that an appropriate minimum sentence for rioting thugs should be a minimum of 10 years.

Robert Gibson, Milngavie.

Murdo Fraser has entered the Scottish Conservative leadership race (Image: PA)

Scots Tories must speak out

MEMBERS of the Conservative Party in Scotland should consider whether they see their new leader as a puppet of a future successor to Boris Johnson or Liz Truss, such as Priti Patel, Suella Braverman, or perhaps even Nigel Farage, or, whether they believe their new leader can make different and better decisions if sincerely able to act free of London control in the best interests of Scottish members and the wider Scottish public?

If no longer simply a branch office the Scottish Conservatives can have a meaningful role in the future governance of Scotland, a role which will be enhanced in an independent Scotland by currently taking advantage of Scottish Labour’s continuing failure to shun London-centric Labour Party policies, but in the meantime members need to speak out and vote in favour of a new approach.

Regrettably as the sixth leadership contender enters the race ("Murdo Fraser announces candidacy for Scottish Tory leadership", heraldscotland, August 7) it appears that still the only choice is another puppet unwilling to genuinely stand up for Scotland.

Stan Grodynski, Longniddry.