A SCOTTISH teaching union today launched its manifesto for the local council elections in May, urging voters to back parties who supported “high quality” education in their area.
The Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS) says it is politically independent but is urging all political parties and all council candidates to pledge their support for education.
EIS President Alan Munro said: “The EIS has issued a manifesto for all Scottish Parliament elections since 1999 and previously for Westminster elections. Now, for the first time, we are also publishing an education manifesto for the Scottish local government elections.”
He added: “Local councils have responsibility for running schools in their own local authority areas. While national education policy is decided at Scottish Parliamentary level, it is local authority education departments who have the responsibility for implementing that policy in schools across Scotland. This does help to foster local accountability, but can also lead to different approaches to key policies such as maintaining staffing levels, and improving access to pre-school education.”
In its new manifesto, the EIS sets out the priorities for supporting a high-quality education system across Scotland. We are asking all candidates of all political affiliations to consider seriously the EIS priorities for education in this election.
Mr Munro added: “We urge all our members to pursue EIS priorities with council candidates and local political parties. The EIS will express no view about which candidates or political parties anyone should vote for in this election. However, we urge all teaching professionals, their family members, friends and colleagues to use their vote on May 3 and to vote for candidates who will support a high quality education system in their local area.”
