Almost three in 10 adults in Scotland’s most deprived areas have no qualifications, the Scottish Household Survey has revealed.
For those living in the 20% poorest areas of the country a complete absence of qualifications was the most common level of educational attainment.
That contrasted with the 20% richest areas where half of adults, aged 16 or over, had a degree or professional qualification.
This shocking statistic has laid bare the SNP’s complete failure in tackling the attainment gap. With educational inequalities set to rise due to the effects of the pandemic, the Scottish Government must get to grips with this situation immediately.”
Labour education spokesman Iain Gray
Just 46% of adults without formal education qualifications were in paid work, compared with 80% of those with a degree or professional qualification and 66% of those with Higher or Standard Grade passes.
The figures, revealed in the Scottish Government’s annual survey looking at the state of the nation, were described as “shameful” by Labour, who said the Scottish Government was failing to close the attainment gap.
The disparity between the well-off and the poor was identified despite Nicola Sturgeon’s pledge to make education her top priority and the Scottish Government’s pledge to close the gap that sees rich pupils and students outperform their poorer counterparts academically.
Labour education spokesman Iain Gray said: “This shocking statistic has laid bare the SNP’s complete failure in tackling the attainment gap.
“With educational inequalities set to rise due to the effects of the pandemic, the Scottish Government must get to grips with this situation immediately.
“For too long a postcode lottery has determined the educational attainment of thousands of people living in Scotland. This simply cannot continue.
“The time has come for the SNP to face up to their abysmal record on education and work with other parties to help bridge this substantial attainment gap.”
A Scottish Government spokesman said: “Closing the attainment gap and raising the bar for every child and young person remains our driving ambition, and since 2009-10 the proportion of school leavers from the most deprived areas achieving at least one qualification at Higher level or better has risen from 27.2% to 43.5% in 2018/19.
“We are empowering teachers and headteachers, learners and parents to make the key decisions that affect the educational outcomes of children and young people. We have also provided £75 million for local authorities to recruit approximately 1,400 additional teachers into classrooms in this school year.”
The Scottish Government pointed to statistics showing that since 2009-10 the proportion of school leavers from the most deprived areas achieving at least one qualification at National 5 or better has risen from 58.4% to 74.4% in 2018/19.
Since 2009-10 the proportion of school leavers from the most deprived areas achieving at least one qualification at Higher level or better has risen from 27.2% to 43.5% in 2018/19.