Schools crisis: 'Ms MacLaren has inherited a poisoned chalice'

Published on Friday 16 October 2009 09:01

CITY education leader Marilyne MacLaren today paints a bleak picture of the future of education in Edinburgh, although it has to be said her council, and previous administrations, cannot be held solely to blame for the sorry state it finds itself in.

And tough decisions that lie ahead will almost inevitably dilute standards further.

Her gloomy prediction that there are still "a lot of nasties down the line" does not bode well for the future. The current round of school closures are not even yet complete and already she is predicting that more schools will close in the future. And perhaps more worryingly she says that without substantial additional government investment work on at least three city schools which urgently require to be refurbished or replaced may not happen at all.

Attempts to argue the city's case for help from Fiona Hyslop so far have borne little fruit and the SNP government's proposed mechanism for replacing the PFI system favoured by the city in the past – the Scottish Future's Trust – still shows no signs of delivering any money.

But perhaps now that the government has abandoned its ill-conceived and costly plans to limit some primary classes to a maximum of 18 pupils, could this provide an opportunity to channel some additional cash into building new schools? In its manifesto the SNP promised to match the previous government's school rebuilding programme "brick for brick" but more than halfway through its term of office there is still no sign of them honouring this pledge.

There is little doubt that in taking over the reins of education at this time Ms MacLaren has inherited a poisoned chalice. It is a pity that she has taken over at such a bad time as she seems passionate about improving education.

Dogged by controversy she has had to accept her fair share of criticism and abuse. But she had to expect that. Closing schools is an emotive issue for many parents and it is understandable that tensions have been running high. But those who have resorted to personally abusing her are misguided. It serves little purpose when solutions are being sought to best serve the majority, rather than the minority.

However, it comes with the territory for politicians, as Labour's Andrew Burns discovered during his term as city transport leader.

Yet Ms MacLaren has at least to be given credit for turning up personally and facing her critics at the raft of public meetings that have been arranged to discuss the closure programme. It is a task that she could have body-swerved. But she will already be aware that there is no hiding place for her – or any politician or party unable to deliver on a promise of providing better educational facilities for our children.