7 Aug 2018
SNP complacency on education has been “exposed” after a fall in exam pass rates across several key areas was revealed today.
The Scottish Conservatives said “major issues” at National 4 and 5 level proves the nationalist government “simply isn’t up to the job” of improving attainment across the country.
The statistics revealed National 4 attainment rate fell from 92.8 per cent last year to 91.1 per cent.
Those gaining A, B and Cs at National 5 dropped by more than two per cent to 77.4 per cent.
And A-C attainment rate at Higher level reduced slightly to 76.8 per cent from 2017.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has repeatedly said education is her top priority in government.
However, Scotland continues to struggle in comparison to youngsters in other countries, and today’s results confirmed a decrease across key subjects like English.
Scottish Conservative shadow education secretary Liz Smith said:
“Young people right across Scotland, and their teachers, should be congratulated on their efforts and achievements.
“And for those who didn’t get the results they wanted, it’s important they are pointed to the many other opportunities that lie ahead.
“But there’s no escaping the fact that, for a government which claims its priority is education, these are disappointing statistics.
“There has been no improvement in overall attainment across the board and these statistics confirm there are still major issues about the mix between National 4 and National 5 qualifications.
“That’s down to decisions this SNP government has taken, and exposes the complacency it has shown towards education.
“We’ve warned for years that the SNP simply isn’t up to the job of pushing Scottish schools back up the international league tables. These statistics confirm that.”
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