The Scottish Conservatives have attacked the SNP for allocating £12.5million to education programmes in Africa, when their priority should be fixing the mess they have made of Scottish education.
Shadow education secretary Miles Briggs described the decision as “the wrong call” and insisted that, with the SNP making swingeing budget cuts to key services, their focus should be on protecting teacher numbers, improving standards and reducing classroom violence in Scotland’s schools.
He added that John Swinney’s announcement highlighted how disconnected the SNP are from what matters to parents in Scotland and pointed out that overseas aid is a reserved matter for the UK government to focus on.
Scottish Conservative shadow education secretary Miles Briggs said: “It’s the wrong call to send money overseas when Scotland’s schools are facing the prospect of cuts and urgently need more money to protect teacher numbers, improve standards and cut down on classroom violence.
“Funding education systems abroad when our own schools need more money doesn’t make sense. It shows how disconnected the SNP are from what matters most to parents here in Scotland.
“The SNP have failed Scotland’s schools for 17 years. You would think they’d have realised their mistakes by now and focus entirely on fixing those errors.
“When money is tight, difficult decisions need to be made and we must prioritise funding for our own schools, however worthy the overseas programme may be.
“While these schemes have merit, they must not come at the expense of funding Scottish schools, especially when overseas aid is a reserved matter and, therefore, the responsibility of the UK government.”