Exclusive:Michael Marra vows 'national renewal' in education if elected Scottish Labour leader
The North East Scotland MSP said that education would “once again be a major national priority for Scottish Labour” under his leadership.
Michael Marra has pledged a “national renewal” of Scottish education if he becomes Scottish Labour leader.
The North East Scotland MSP said that education would “once again be a major national priority for Scottish Labour” under his leadership.
He also said that Curriculum for Excellence (CfE) had “not delivered on the ambition which led to its creation.”
CfE has been controversial, with Scotland declining among international education rankings since it was introduced.
Mr Marra told The Scotsman: “Education is foundational. It shapes the opportunities available to every young person, strengthens families and communities and provides the skills and talent on which Scotland’s economy depends.
“The SNP’s broken promises and failures on this are well known. From Nicola Sturgeon’s top priority ending in failure to close the attainment gap to John Swinney marking down working class kids in their exams the SNP report care here is of failure.
“But it’s not enough to call out those mistakes. We need the ambition and the ideas to make Scottish education world leading.
“We have to be prepared to admit that Curriculum for Excellence has not delivered on the ambition which led to its creation. Too much reform has tried to paper over the cracks rather than confront the fundamental problems in our education system and our economy.
“We also need to recognise that the world has changed enormously since CfE was designed. Artificial intelligence alone will transform our economy and the lives of the young people currently sitting in Scotland’s classrooms. Our education system has to prepare them not just to navigate that change, but to take advantage of the opportunities it creates.
“If I am elected leader, education will once again be a major national priority for Scottish Labour. We will bring together teachers and school staff, young people and families, trade unions, employers, colleges and universities to do the serious work of developing what comes next.
“This cannot be another exercise in changing structures or creating new organisations. Scotland needs a national renewal in education, putting knowledge and opportunity back at its heart and building a system designed for the Scotland of the future.”
Mr Marra has published a paper today on Scottish education.
In the paper he called for education to become a major national political priority once again, with far greater scrutiny of Scotland’s education system.
He also said that knowledge needs to be put back at the heart of the curriculum, alongside the skills young people need to succeed.
Mr Marra has called for action to restore breadth and opportunity after the narrowing of subject choice under Curriculum for Excellence, and a serious national focus on how schools prepare young people for artificial intelligence and a rapidly changing economy.
Curriculum for Excellence is the national curriculum for Scotland, having been implemented in 2010.
It has been heavily criticised for having devalued knowledge and led to poorer international test performance.
CfE moved away from traditional test-driven teaching and had the goal of making pupils “successful learners”, “confident individuals”, “effective contributors” and “responsible citizens”.
But teachers have complained that this had lead to a higher workload and said the curriculum was too vague.
Mr Marra is running against Joe Fagan to succeed Anas Sarwar as Scottish Labour leader.
Monica Lennon failed to make the ballot after she did not receive enough MP endorsements.
Mr Marra is Scottish Labour’s finance Secretary, while Mr Fagan only became an MSP in May, having previously served as leader of South Lanarkshire Council.
Mr Marra received the most nominations, with 24 MPs and seven MSPs backing him.
Mr Fagan had the support of seven MPs and five MSPs.
Ms Lennon had the support of just two MPs - one short of the threshold - and three MSPs.
When he was confirmed on the ballot, Mr Fagan said: “I’m standing because Scottish Labour needs to be bold again and because working people need a party that is firmly on their side.
“As this contest moves into its next phase, I want to thank every member, trade unionist and affiliate who has backed our campaign and helped us make the case for change.
“This campaign is about more than understanding what went wrong. It is about what Labour does next. It is about respecting work, backing our communities and giving working people real power over the future, not asking them simply to live with decisions made elsewhere.”
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