The Tory Education policy for Scotland unveiled this week fails to take account of the needs of rural schools and rural communities according to Catriona Bhatia, Liberal Democrat Prospective Parliamentary candidate for Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale.

Ms Bhatia, who is also Executive Member for Education on Scottish Borders Council, said “In most rural communities, particularly at secondary level, parents and pupils do not have a choice of schools due to the significant distances between towns and villages. Not only does this make “parental choice” logistically difficult but the cost of transport to a non-catchment school falls to the parents. The Tory policy of effectively issuing monetary vouchers for pupils to choose a school other than their local school is a sop to middle class parents in the central belt who wish to subsidise private education. As Liberal Democrats we want to improve standards in Education across Scotland to ensure that every local school serves the needs of its pupils.”Catriona Bhatia: Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale.

Catriona added “The lack of understanding about the different needs and challenges in rural areas is why I will be campaigning for all policy and legislation to be subject to a “rural proofing” test. For too long the Conservatives and Labour have focussed on urban issues and solutions to the detriment of areas like Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale.”