A councillor says a shock proposal to remove free transport from Falkirk pupils being educated in Gaelic in other local authorities should not be considered as it breaches the council’s own policies as well as the rights of the children involved.
Councillor Laura Murtagh says the impact on pupils who have been educated since Primary 1 at Gaelic Medium Education (GME) schools has not been considered at all as no consultation was done with either parents or pupils.
“This is not about Gaelic – this is about children,” she said. “It’s about the impact on their futures- that’s what we should be considering!”
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Tomorrow (Thursday) members of Falkirk Council’s executive will be asked to approve a report that would remove free transport to pupils in Gaelic Medium Education from August.
Parents received a letter giving just two weeks notice of the proposal that will mean free taxis will no longer be provided to take pupils from Falkirk to either Greenfaulds High School in Cumbernauld or Wallace High in Stirling.
Those who are currently at primary school will continue to get transport until they finish primary seven but no new pupils will be eligible and all secondary age pupils will lose their transport.
Some of the pupils who would be affected if Falkirk Council agrees the budget cut were expecting to start their final year in GME (Gaelic medium education) in August.
The parents of two pupils – one of whom was due to start sixth year in August – say their options are either moving house or asking their children to move to a school with a completely different curriculum, away from all their friends and familiar surroundings.
Cllr Murtagh believes this is in clear breach of children’s rights legislation, UNCRC, which was recently incorporated in Scot’s law.
She said: “Children were given the impression under our Gaelic plan that they would be able to continue their education and have free transport until they finished.
“It’s clear that the impact assessment in the report does not consider the impact on those children because they have not been asked.”
The Independent councillor – a former education portfolio holder before she left the SNP – is also Falkirk Council’s equalities champion and she does not believe that the council’s own policies have been followed correctly.
She also says the council has ignored its own Gaelic Plan, which confirms that it will provide transport to pupils who choose Gaelic Medium Education, and is due to be reviewed next year.
Cllr Murtagh said: “I’m not saying that the council can’t change policy. But until that policy changes, we should be following it.”
The report to Falkirk Council’s executive says the council is spending £4368 on taxis each year per child and this is now unaffordable.
But Cllr Murtagh wants to see much more details on the financial impact, given that it costs the local authority, on average, £6,577 for primary and £8,182 for each secondary school pupil being educated in Falkirk.
As Falkirk makes no financial contribution to either Stirling Council or North Lanarkshire Council for the education provided, Cllr Murtagh says the cost of several pupils moving back to Falkirk to be educated should be clearer.
She also criticises the report for making no mention of the Scottish Languages Bill currently going through Holyrood, which will give equal protection and status to Gaelic and Scots.
Because of these factors, she has submitted a procedural motion arguing strongly that the report should not be considered until there has been a proper consultation and the financial information is clearer.
If that is not successful, the councillor will submit an amendment asking her fellow councillors to reject the proposals.
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