Scottish Government to pledge £12.5m for African education

The Scottish Government is seeking to provide up to £12.5 million in aid for education initiatives in three African countries.

Two programmes – one working with disabled children and another helping girls to complete secondary school – in Malawi, Rwanda and Zambia will receive the funding, which will for part of the Government’s spending plans.

A draft budget will be published on December 4.

But the Scottish Tories have urged ministers to focus on issues in domestic education ahead of that in other countries.

“This funding aims to help overcome some of the persistent barriers faced by women, girls and children with disabilities, to ensure they have equal access to education, and are fully included in the social and economic life of their communities,” said First Minister John Swinney as he met with the High Commissioners of Malawi and Zambia and the Deputy High Commissioner of Rwanda this week.

“The Scottish Government has prioritised this work as part of our commitment to international development and good global citizenship, working in partnership with our counterparts in Malawi, Rwanda and Zambia to meet the aims of the UN Sustainable Development goals.

“So I am very pleased to confirm this additional funding in support of those efforts.

“I am also grateful for the work of Oxfam, Link Education International and local partners in all three countries who are delivering these programmes to help some of the world’s most marginalised learners, who have the same right to a quality education as anyone else.”

But Scottish Tory education spokesman Miles Briggs said pledging the funding was the “wrong call” when financial issues have meant schools in Scotland could be “facing the prospect of cuts”.

“Funding education systems abroad when our own schools need more money doesn’t make sense,” he said.

“It shows how disconnected the SNP are from what matters most to parents here in Scotland.

“The SNP have failed Scotland’s schools for 17 years. You would think they’d have realised their mistakes by now and focus entirely on fixing those errors.

“When money is tight, difficult decisions need to be made and we must prioritise funding for our own schools, however worthy the overseas programme may be.

“While these schemes have merit, they must not come at the expense of funding Scottish schools, especially when overseas aid is a reserved matter and, therefore, the responsibility of the UK Government.”