The SNP has promised to release the OECD's long-awaited review of Curriculum for Excellence in the first 100 days of a new government.
The pledge is one of a series that would be enacted if Nicola Sturgeon's party triumphs in the Scottish Parliament election.
It comes after publication was postponed due to Covid-19, with Education Secretary John Swinney later at the centre of a secrecy row amid claims the SNP did not want its record on schools to be judged in the run-up to next Thursday's vote.
READ MORE: John Swinney at centre of new secrecy row over education report
The new 100-day plan also says work will begin on implementation of the review's recommendations if the party wins next month.
READ MORE: Curriculum for Excellence 'to blame' for lower maths and science scores
Among other commitments is a pledge to ensure pupils get "fair results" under alternative assessment following cancellation of National 5, Higher and Advanced Higher exams. Fees for music and arts education would also be abolished.
And, in a boost for students, the SNP is planning to establish a £20 million Summer Support Fund.
🚨 BREAKING: @theSNP announces plans to establish a £20 million Summer Student Support Fund in the first 100 days of the next term.
— SNP Students (@SNPStudents) April 29, 2021
🎓 This will help students unable to find work throughout the summer months that SAAS does not cover.
🗳 Make it #BothVotesSNP on May 6. pic.twitter.com/sAJHHWs0XR
It will help those unable to find work throughout the summer months not covered by the Student Awards Agency for Scotland.
NUS Scotland President Matt Crilly said: “At our Big Student Debate we were pleased to have support from all of the main parties to tackling the students financial situation over summer – it’s good to hear the discussion now turn to solutions.
“Students across Scotland will soon receive their last support payments ahead of a long summer of financial uncertainty, with fewer work opportunities and, for most, no access to social security.
“We now need to move beyond applying the sticking plaster of more hardship funding – that’s why we’re asking candidates in this election to back our Student Guarantee and a student support system that meets the real cost of learning.”
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel