Humza Yousaf admitted Scotland’s PISA school results were “poor” but still attempted to defend the SNP’s “appalling” record on education at First Minister’s Questions.
Scottish Conservative Leader Douglas Ross said the SNP’s handling of schools is a “national disgrace”.
He called for the SNP’s Curriculum for Excellence to be scrapped after the PISA study revealed the worst-ever education performance in maths, reading and science.
Dr Keir Bloomer, an architect of the CfE, said this week: “Many factors will have contributed to this decline but it cannot be a coincidence that it has taken place during the disastrous implementation of Curriculum for Excellence and its aftermath.”
John Jerrim, professor of education at UCL, also said this week: “I think parents probably should be worried. Clearly things have not been going well in Scotland.”
Humza Yousaf insisted: “Some of the challenges we saw predate the Curriculum for Excellence.”
Scottish Conservative Leader Douglas Ross said: “After 16 years of the SNP, Scotland’s schools now rank behind Latvia in science, Estonia in reading and Lithuania in maths.
“The SNP’s record on schools is a national disgrace. A generation of young Scots have been failed by Humza Yousaf’s party.
“The Scottish education system was once among the best in the world. On the SNP’s watch, our schools have plummeted down international school league tables.
“The First Minister has admitted the PISA results were ‘poor’ but his head is in the sand over the scale of the SNP’s failures. He refuses to act.
“Humza Yousaf doesn’t seem to be planning any urgent action to address these record, worst-ever PISA results. No wonder parents are worried about the future of Scotland’s schools.
“A generation of Scots have already been failed and another generation are being let down by the lack of leadership from Humza Yousaf.
“The SNP’s flawed reforms have cost Scotland our international reputation for excellence in education. They made schools less about learning. The SNP’s curriculum doesn’t value knowledge. They tried to save it with mountains of bureaucracy and only made it worse.
“After the worst-ever school results, the SNP’s curriculum must be scrapped."