Anna McFadyen

Poor Scottish pupils are the worst hit by teachers’ strikes

(Photo by Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)

Classrooms in Scotland are empty again today as a result of the latest round of teaching strikes. Throughout February and March, some Scottish school pupils – including myself – will lose eight days of education, a stark contrast to the national average of two. The tactic of targeted strike action is being deployed Scotland’s largest teaching union, the Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS), to target high-profile politicians. But students are feeling the pressure too.

One of the areas affected is Nicola Sturgeon’s own constituency – Glasgow Southside – which is home to the largest school in Scotland, as well as a school caring for pupils with learning difficulties. While targeting Sturgeon is logical, many vulnerable students from some of the most deprived parts of the country are watching their schooling fall apart, helpless in the face of the union action. More EIS strikes are predicted for next week. All we want – and plead for – is to get back to the classroom. 

My generation are the ‘Covid teens’: those forced to learn at home during the pandemic. We have suffered enough.

Pupils have been largely silenced in the conversation surrounding industrial action; this feels paradoxical given that schools and teachers increasingly encourage us to use our voices on issues we care about. For young people, whose education has taken a substantial industrial action-related hit this year, it looks as though some of the most deprived areas of Scotland have fallen victim to the agenda of the EIS.

Govanhill, located in Sturgeon’s seat, is one of the most diverse places in Scotland, having welcomed a plethora of cultures since the 1800s and home to over 88 different languages. But it is also one of the poorest places in Scotland. Its constituents – many of whom are parents to my peers – already face a significant number of barriers relating to language, poverty and inequality. When

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