Scottish Labour accuses government of "betraying" poorest students
It comes after the party found funding for digital inclusion would be cut
Scottish Labour are accusing the government of letting down the poorest students as they reveal funding to tackle digital poverty will be cut.
The SNP pledged £5m a year to make sure students who needed to access online learning would be able to, as not having that could impact their learning.
However a Freedom of Information (FOI) request by Labour found that money would no longer be provided due to “budget pressures and the financial position”.
Holyrood says this means it will be “unable to provide a specific allocation in the 2024-25 SFC budget for digital inclusion, as in previous years”.
"Chaotic"
Labour’s education spokesperson Pam Duncan-Glancy pushed back on this decision, saying: “This chaotic SNP Green government has betrayed the poorest students in Scotland by ditching its flagship policies for tackling digital exclusion."
She asked the government for an update on its plans to provide digital devices to pupils, noting “the £13m allocated for this has been identified as a necessary saving.”
Education secretary Jenny Gilruth said funding would be targeted specifically at disadvantaged families with children on a household level.
She added ministers “are currently in the early stages of scheme design” with Connecting Scotland digital inclusion scheme, and pledged a further update “in due course”.
"Betrayed the poorest students"
Ms Duncan-Glancy warned “digital exclusion deprives people of opportunities and entrenches inequality", adding: “Ensuring everyone can get online is key to breaking the cycle of poverty and giving everyone a fair chance to learn.
"The SNP has taken a wrecking ball to its last manifesto, breaking promise after promise."
She demanded: "With its pledges in tatters, the SNP Green government must set out a new plan to tackle digital exclusion in our education system and across society."
A spokesperson for the Education Secretary said: “Despite Westminster austerity which is supported by both Labour and the Conservatives, the Scottish Government is investing £10m this year in targeted device and connectivity provision for our most disadvantaged children and young people.
“As a result of action taken by this government – including investing in free tuition - the number of young people from our poorest communities going to university is at a record high. What would be a betrayal of young people would be the reintroducing of backdoor tuition fees, as Scottish Labour's finance spokesperson recently appeared to suggest."