By Amanda MacMillan
TEACHERS, lecturers, students and parents will to the streets to march against proposed education cuts later this month.
A march and rally organised by the Education Institute of Scotland (EIS) will take place in Edinburgh on Saturday 23 October.
Campaigning under the slogan ‘Why Must our Children Pay?’ the EIS is arguing that the education of children and young people should not be damaged further by another round of deep cuts to education funding for schools, colleges and universities.
Kay Barnett EIS President Kay Barnett said: “It is clear that there are few areas of Scottish education that have gone untouched by the politically-motivated cuts agenda.
“We know that teacher numbers are being cut, and that class sizes are increasing. Commitments to maintain teacher numbers in order to lower class sizes and support the implementation of the new Curriculum for Excellence now seem to have been conveniently forgotten by our nation’s politicians.
“Support for pupils, particularly some of the most vulnerable, is also being cut which is placing greater strain on class teachers and removing valuable specialist assistance which can help pupils from challenging backgrounds to overcome the obstacles that they face on a daily basis.”
The EIS has published a new Cuts Bulletin which highlights real examples of the impact that budget cuts are having in learning establishments across the country.
One statement reads: “Staff have time on their timetables but this will be used for ‘library periods’ to cover staff illness. Probationers are being used in place of appointing full time permanent posts.”
While another says: “Our assigned First Aider is now only with us 12 hours per week, the head teacher is being forced to cover the medical room over lunchtime as the remaining support staff are required to supervise in the playground.”
