13 August 2017
Education was supposed to be the number one priority for the SNP – but the numbers just don't add up.
Since the SNP came to power, education has seen a smaller share of public spending, meaning that millions of pounds less has been spent on education than if the SNP had kept pace with Labour's choices.
Under Labour, 13% of public spending was on the Education and Trainin budget. Under the SNP, that area has fallen to 11.8% of spending.
If the SNP had kept pace with Labour’s investment in Education and Training, it would have spent 13% or £75.6billion.
That means the SNP has spent £6.9 billion less over its period in office than if they had kept pace with the Labour years – or, on average, £773 million a year less.
Meanwhile, there has been a huge fall in pupils sitting key subjects since Nicola Sturgeon became First Minister.
At Higher level, there has been:
• An 11 per cent drop in Chemistry
• A 14 per cent drop in Maths
• A 12 per cent drop in Physics
At National 5 level there has been:
• A 24 per cent drop in French
• A 26 per cent drop in German
• A 31 percent drop in Italian
These figures show that a lack of investment is cutting off opportunities for our young people.
This week, Labour’s summer campaign ‘For The Many’ turns to education with a back to school theme. We’ll outline ideas on how we would make Scottish education better.
Keep up with the campaign so far by clicking the image below:
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