JOHN Swinney is under pressure to set aside a share of his education budget to ensure that pupils from poorer backgrounds get the same level of tuition as those who can afford private one-to-one coaching.

Labour MSP Pauline McNeill has written to the Education Secretary calling on the Scottish Government to fund out-of-hours learning support for children whose parents cannot afford private tuition. The demand comes amid concerns that there has been a growth in the private tuition industry, giving rise to fears that less well-off children are being left behind those from wealthier backgrounds.

McNeill said the targeted provision was needed so that children from poverty-stricken families had similar levels of support to help them prepare for exams to those who have higher income parents. The Glasgow list MSP suggested that while it would be difficult to identify exactly how much individual families spend on private tuition, the government could still make additional funds available so that the less well-off are not disadvantaged.

She said Swinney could set aside the cash from Education Scotland's £750 million Attainment Scotland Fund, an initiative focused on supporting pupils in the local authorities of Scotland with the highest levels of deprivation.

McNeill, who is Scottish Labour's Shadow Community Minister, said that a failure to commit such funding would mean less well-off children could be disadvantaged in preparing for schools exams.

She said: “Although the evidence is limited it would appear that the use of private tuition is on the increase and that poorer students do not get the advantage that private one-to-one

tuition can bring. Since all children are sitting the same exams I believe the only fair way to proceed is for poorer students to get that access to additional support.

"I am impressed with the support that many Glasgow Schools are providing but it needs more funding support. I have put a motion in parliament given the importance of closing the educational attainment gap and calling for more support for this purpose. I am astonished that

no SNP members have signed it.

“I don’t think the government can ignore the unfairness of some pupils getting access to extra tuition to pass exams and others not getting that support if they are serious about

closing the attainment gap. I have written to John Swinney who has replied by outlining the money set aside in the attainment fund. I want some of that money to ensure that every child can access the support they need.”

Swinney, who is also Deputy First Minister, was moved by Nicola Sturgeon from his previous post as Finance Secretary to education, a policy area which critics claim the SNP government has struggled to get to grips with.

A Scottish Government spokesperson said that Swinney's department was focused on improving school standards so that pupils of all backgrounds did not need private tuition.

The spokesperson said: “Rather than funding private tutors for individual pupils, we are intent on improving all of Scotland’s schools so nobody needs them.

“We are allocating an additional £750 million over the lifetime of this parliament for schools and authorities to provide additional support to children affected by poverty.

“We are also providing additional resources to secondary schools involved in the Attainment Challenge to help them enhance their supported study offer, so pupils can access the extra support and advice they need from the school.”