Rachael Hamilton MSP has accused the SNP of ‘running scared’ and has urged them to immediately publish a delayed review of Scotland’s education system.
The Scottish Government was due to release the independent study on education by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in February.
Yet, the Education Secretary John Swinney has postponed the release of the report until after May’s Holyrood election.
The OECD has been analysing the SNP’s Curriculum for Excellence, which has been the subject of criticism since its introduction.
Under the SNP, educational standards in Scotland have slipped in the international rankings and there have been cuts to teacher numbers.
In a vote held in the Scottish Parliament on Wednesday, SNP politicians including Christine Grahame MSP and Paul Wheelhouse MSP voted not to publish the report immediately.
Mrs Hamilton and her Scottish Conservative colleagues believe there needs to be a reform of the Scottish Qualification Authority and Education Scotland.
The Borders MSP recently backed plans which include the recruitment of 3,000 new teachers over the course of the next parliament and the creation of a national tutoring scheme, to help children catch-up following the pandemic.
Rachael Hamilton MSP said:
“The fact that SNP politicians are unwilling to publish the OECD report on Scottish education shows they have something to hide.
“Both Christine Grahame and Paul Wheelhouse voted against a motion to release the report, showing they are running scared of the findings.
“We know the OECD report’s draft findings are sitting on the Education Secretary's desk right now, so why aren’t the Scottish public allowed to know what has been concluded?
“Teachers and parents deserve to know what findings they have reached.
“This sort of arrogant behaviour is typical of the SNP; they have a fear of transparency.
“I am proud my party have put the interests of pupils and teachers first, with a national tutoring plan and extra teachers for rural schools.
“As always, independence is the SNP’s obsession, even during in a worldwide pandemic.
“Everything else, including our children’s education, falls down the priority list”.
Shona Haslam, Candidate for Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale said:
“The public deserve to know what the OECD have found in their review of Scottish education.
“Yet again we see Christine Grahame voting to hide material which the SNP Government must publish.
“The SNP Government’s botched implementation of the Curriculum for Excellence has pushed a large unnecessary workload onto teachers over the years.
“My party put education first and I support plans for a tutoring programme, which will help pupils catch up on work they have missed after the pandemic.
“Thanks to our interventions here in the Borders, through our Inspire Learning programme, children were prepared to learn from home when the pandemic started last year”.