Access to Post School Education

Copy of letter sent to The Herald (Published Wednesday 5 June)

Subject: Access to Post School Education

Sir
The truth is out-'free' Higher Education has done nothing to assist young people from disadvantaged backgrounds.
The cost of 'free' Higher Education has been the dismemberment of Further Education in Scotland-the very Sector which actually could Widen Access to Post-School Education.
The Policies of the Scottish Government have now been exposed by Professor Ferdinand von Prondzynski(who was ironically appointed by the current Cabinet Secretary for Education) to be little more than a bribe to Middle Class voters which has done absolutely nothing to Widen Access (which is the policy's stated objective).
In the meantime, spending on Scotland's Colleges,which DO reach learners from more disadvantaged communities, is being slashed and the Sector's attenuated resources are being 'redirected' from poorer urban communities to rural areas. Furthermore  the Cabinet Secretary's 'regionalisation' strategy (embodied in his Post-16 Education Bill) will put at risk local Post-16 provision in our poorer communities. Revealingly that legislation makes absolutely no commitment to widen access to Further Education or to include tackling social exclusion as a policy priority for colleges.
Thank goodness the SNP promised the electorate that it would make Scotland a 'Fairer' & a 'Smarter' society. Imagine what might have happened if this had not been the case...
Unbelievably these are the circumstances of the Educational Institute for Scotland's invitation to the Cabinet Secretary to address this week's Annual Conference (apparently the first ever such invitation).
Yours faithfully
Ian Graham
Burnside Lodge Cottage
Erray Road
Tobermory
Isle of Mull