From the archive: Harvest ‘victimisation’ of school children

The Scotsman 12 June 1950

STRONG criticism of the employment of school children for potato harvesting was expressed at the annual meeting of the Education Institute of Scotland in Edinburgh. The meeting approved the policy of the institute’s council that children should not be exempt from school for employment in harvesting operations during the school session, and that in the event of camps being organised in the future, the institute give positive direction to its members not to participate. “No matter what we do, children will be employed, and we should do our best to see their welfare is safeguarded,” declared Dr JT Allardice, rector of Forfar Academy. In agricultural areas like Angus, holidays were expressly given for the purpose of permitting children to go to the potato harvesting, and they had no means of inducing education
authorities to stop that practice.

• archive.scotsman.com

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