YOUR leader ("Education reform is long overdue", (The Herald, January 18) seems to me an unfair placing of blame which can only lead to a misplacing of resources.

I regularly take my church's donation to the local food bank. As a long-retired teacher and inspector I find myself wondering at every visit how I would cope in today's classrooms. What quality of homework can be expected from a child living in an unheated house in a west of Scotland winter? What kind of energy for classwork do third or fourth siblings find, when they are legally dependent on charity for their food and clothing?

Your editorial says reprovingly "the attainment gap between the most advantaged and the most deprived is actually widening". It is difficult to see how an informed leader-writer can be surprised at this, living as he does in a country where comparative poverty has been increasing for a decade. Whatever may be the faults and limitations of the Curriculum for Excellence, the education professions, and the education minister, a focus on the root causes of under-performance would be more useful.

Martin Axford, Bridge of Weir.

Iran’s culpability

YOUR report on the ongoing investigations into the shooting down of the Ukrainian jetliner ("Iran backtracks on sending shot plane’s black boxes abroad", The Herald, January 20) repeats the slightly more positive slant on this tragedy attempted by Iran by referring to the jetliner as having been “accidentally" shot down which somehow excuses it, whereas in fact it was deliberately targeted and deliberately shot down. A better word would have been “mistakenly", but there is no doubt the action was deliberate. Of course, none of this semantic precision helps the families of the murdered passengers and crew or the owners of the jetliner. However, it just might be worthwhile if it is material to the level of compensation payments and the punishment of those responsible, which together might also make those responsible in future for air defence systems anywhere think twice.

You report also the surprising reluctance of Iran to hand over the black boxes saying that it has “no plans to send them out” which begs the question why not? As the jetliner was Ukrainian, not Iranian, so surely are the black boxes, so how can Iran justify holding on to them rather than returning them immediately to their owner in Ukraine?

Alan Fitzpatrick, Dunlop.

Electric shock

DRIVERS of petrol/diesel vehicles who park in electric vehicle spaces in East Lothian could be towed away under new powers. In their war against the motorist they are also reducing parking spaces by installing more charging points at cost to the council taxpayer who cannot afford a car, far less an electric one. Why should the wealthy electric vehicle (EV) owner who gets up to £3,500 by way of a grant (was £4,500) not pay towards the charging network?

Some councils even provide free electricity. Many EV owners leave their car in a charging point all day whilst they take the train to work. Will they be towed away?

Clark Cross, Linlithgow.

The special Spider

KENNETH P Colville's letter (January 18) illustrates how life can turn full circle. Bobby Brown ended his career with Falkirk, but it was as a Falkirk schoolboy that Brown joined Queen's Park in 1939. His career was interrupted by the war, but he remains the last Queen's Park player to earn a full international cap, against Belgium in 1946. I can still picture him in the distinctive black jersey with a broad white stripe worn in those days by Queen's Park goalkeepers.

David Miller, Milngavie.

Culling time

I NOTE the correspondence on clearing out books (Letters, January 15 & 20). I annually undertake a Dr Beeching on my books.

What other solution is there? The blighters breed at night.

Gordon Casely, Crathes.