Politicians talk the talk but they don't walk the walk over education

“Let me be clear – I want to be judged on this. If you are not, as first minister, prepared to put your neck on the line on the education of our young people then what are you prepared to. It really matters”.

The latter isn’t quite as snappy but whether you’re a fan of Blair or Sturgeon – perhaps one, the other, or neither – the quotes from them both set out their respective government's stall on education.

Blair spoke his words during the 1996 Labour Party Conference before the Scottish Parliament had even been reconvened after its 300-year hiatus. While of course, much of the structure and delivery of education has always been distinct in Scotland, what happens at UK elections matters deeply. The levels of investment in education at Westminster directly affect what Holyrood can do and year-on-year budget cuts are taking their toll here.

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Vital. Critical. Of the utmost importance. Choose, as the politicians do (especially during election times) any superlatives you want to describe the central role of education in shaping our life chances but, ultimately, education can be life-altering.

It is still true that in our divided society, scarred by poverty, other factors limit young people’s life chances, but as a means of mitigating those disadvantages whilst acting as a positive force for tackling inequality, learning is hard to beat. Equally, education isn’t just for the young and doesn’t necessarily always have to be delivered in the ‘traditional’ academic setting. We’re never done learning. Not to get too sanctimonious about it but whether it’s in the classroom, the lecture hall or the shop floor, every interaction with a teacher or worker is an opportunity for learning and growth.

If education matters as much as the politicians say it does, actions speak louder than words. The Blair Government certainly delivered a significant increase in investment in education, though how it determined that much of the money was spent is open to criticism as was its introduction of university tuition fees in England.

Equally, despite some positive policy initiatives from successive SNP governments why is the SNP Scottish Government reducing funding to our local authorities and why is Glasgow City Council reducing teacher numbers by 450?

When in response, over 90% of teachers in the country’s largest teacher union in its biggest city vote yes in a consultative ballot on strike actions, it's time to wake up and smell the coffee.

Meanwhile, our Further Education institutions have received sustained cuts to their funding - a staggering £500,000,000 budget black hole over three years - which will, beyond question, negatively impact the life chances of those seeking a gateway to learning.

Those students and staff in our colleges shouldn’t be treated as second-class citizens. It’s hollow for any government, least of all the Scottish Government, which supposedly values the role of colleges within the social fabric of Scotland, to have allowed for the denigration of our educational institutions.

Education doesn't finish when we leave school (Image: free)

As this column goes to print, EIS-FELA members at the City of Glasgow College are on strike continuing their fight for better terms, pay and conditions. It's rarely just about pay. Further Education staff are most certainly impacted by the cost-of-living crisis, but they are also fighting for the future of their institutions and the quality of education they provide, even at great personal cost to them and their families.

As well as representing the workers who deliver our education, the trade union movement has always had a big role in learning and education. We are a part of a proud tradition of working-class education which has sustained our economy and enriched our society. Whether on the shop floor, through supporting apprentices, or through classroom-based union learning, we are the gateway to thousands upon thousands of learning opportunities from everyday skills such as reading and writing to Open University degrees.

We are also teaching and developing the next generation of trade union activists and reps. Just as none of us is born with the skills to be an engineer, neither are we born ready to become a union rep with the skills to represent and negotiate or to deliver health and safety in the workplace. The vital role our unions representatives play is right recognised by Government. Former First Minister Humza Yousaf was visibly moved earlier this year as he presented our annual union rep awards. Our representatives, very often in their own time, work tirelessly to deliver dignity in the workplace and create a ripple effect across wider society on fairness and economic justice.

Yet we are at risk of rolling back on our progress. The Scottish Government has made decent noises, if not yet enough tangible actions, in trying to make Scotland a ‘Fair Work Nation’ by 2025. Perhaps unsurprisingly, without sustained funding or the required political will, in addition to powers over employment law, the Scottish Government can never hope to achieve this aim by next year.

To achieve Fair Work, we need enlightened employers for sure. However, we also need recognised unions and skilled reps. For however many policies and procedures we pass and agree, good negotiation and effective representation are the keys to success, including achieving the kind of industrial relations that reduce the need for strikes.

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Therefore, it is alarming in the extreme that senior management in Scotland’s largest college, City of Glasgow College, is proposing to close the Trade Union Education Centre. For over 30 years, the centre has been a hub of trade union activity that empowers workers across Scotland to learn, educate and organise within their workplaces. It builds the exact type of Fair Work Nation the Scottish Government and our movement wish to realise.

The move is utterly incompatible with Scottish Government aims and Ministers need to make that clear. The college appears hellbent on a continued collision course, not just with its workers, but with trade unionism in all its forms. For an institution that is supposedly founded on the principle of education for all, irrespective of class or privilege, it’s a very odd position to adopt.

As election sparring continues and rhetoric around education inevitably goes through the gears, let's not avert our eyes. Whatever happens next, let's work together to champion the transformative impact that our education institutions bring about and remember that education is a right, not a privilege.

Roz Foyer is general secretary of the STUC