RICHARD Allison (Letters, May 11) claims that unionist parties should have concentrated their attacks during the election on a clear litany of failures, amongst them a once world-renowned education system in disarray . This assertion about the shortcomings of Scottish education has been regularly trotted out during the course of the campaign. Where is his evidence for this claim apart from the recent Pisa figures, which are very limited in what they have to say about performance in our Scottish schools? (It is worth pointing out that such international comparisons only started in 2020. In addition, it is only comparatively recently that national exam results and school leaver destinations have been published. Claims of a previous world-beating reputation for Scottish education are simply anecdotal with no hard evidence to back them up.)
Rhynie Primary School pupils Angus Beverly (left), 10 and William Dibb, 11, who have set up a petition to bring back their cook’s ‘best puddings in the world’. I NOTE your article re Aberdeenshire council s removal of favourite school desserts ( Dessert storm: Custard and ice cream ban leaves pupils in a jam , The Herald, April 15). As a music teacher more than a decade ago, I foresaw the consternation that such measures, without due consideration to the farming community whom it is well known require additional calories, would cause. The classic Coulter s Candy was re-written. To Masters Beverly and Dibb of Rhynie Primary School, Aberdeenshire, I feel your pain. Feel free to borrow. Let this be your anthem.
THE past few months have been bad ones for Scottish politics, Scottish political debate and the country s institutions. Many people, especially those who support independence or just greater devolution, will have been dismayed and felt let down by the conduct of their elected representatives and the functioning of key institutions. Perhaps the greatest cause for dismay was the report of the parliamentary committee on whether the First Minister misled parliament on matters relating to issues arising from the alleged conduct of Alex Salmond. The leaked report, and the committee which produced it, by dividing on predictable party political lines failed a central test of effective parliamentary democracy: the objective investigation and scrutiny of government action. An effective and objective committee system is an important part of the operations of any democratic parliament.
IT was inevitable that nationalists would seize on the LSE report on EU membership and the Velvet Divorce of the former Czechoslovakia (Letters, April 2), despite their earlier rubbishing of other opinions coming out of that academic institution. However, they choose at the same time to ignore the very real and pertinent differences between Scotland and Slovakia. The industrial strength of Slovakia is founded upon a number of advantages that Scotland does not possess, including low wages, low tax rates, and a favourable geographic location in the heart of Central Europe. Of these, we know that driving down wages is part of Andrew Wilson s SNP growth strategy, and that reduced public expenditure would be required to apply to join the EU as a new member state, but we are not there yet. Moreover, even the most ardent nationalist will admit that Scotland is a geographically peripheral territory.