Schools struggle with standards
The quality of education has not been eroded by cuts in public spending - yet, a TESS survey finds. It could be that responses were coloured by suspicion about what we were up to. One Argyll primary head wrote: “If you are using the result of the downturn in the economy as a stick to beat Maggie and her attempt to give us an honest currency, I think it is unworthy of you.”
Doctors hesitant over handicapped
Doctors who deal with handicapped children are worried that the philosophy of integrating such children into ordinary schools is premature. They fear that the recommendations of the Warnock report have become a shibboleth enshrined in act of Parliament. But they blame their own profession for being too slow to react to the challenge of Warnock.
Investigation continues
The trustees of Sabhal Mor Ostaig, the Gaelic college in Skye, decided over the weekend to reinstate their director and research assistant who had both been suspended the previous week when they admitted to being members of the militant Ceartas group, which has been claiming responsibility for defacing road signs throughout Scotland. The case of the research assistant is still under investigation.
When choice would be demanded
“Endless bitterness and disputation” would flow from the Government’s proposed amendment to the Education Bill removing the right of education authorities to fix the total numbers of pupils who may be admitted to a school, according to the Educational Institute of Scotland. There would be “disastrous educational and professional consequences”. The EIS has written to Mr Alex Fletcher, the Education Minister, appealing to him to drop the proposal.
Free Church school plan to go ahead
The Free Church of Scotland (pop. 10,063) is to pursue the possibility of setting up its own school or schools despite the results of a survey of ministers and teachers which revealed “little or no” support among Free Church people for such a school. The committee’s report referred to the “spiritual threat” to Free Church children because of the lack of Christian teaching in state schools.
