The Scottish Unionist Party is the only political party in Scotland which is pledged to end religious apartheid in schools.

Since our formation in 1999, we have maintained that it is socially, morally and economically indefensible to segregate children on religious grounds.

We believe that the present system of dividing children from the age of 5 to 18 into denominational and non-denominational camps is fundamentally flawed.

The current system is socially divisive and, despite what the proponents argue, it fosters sectarianism - a fact that can be seen from the statistical evidence showing that sectarianism flourishes in those areas of west central Scotland where the segregated education system is strongest.

We object to the term non denominational as being insensitive and inaccurate and we are campaigning to have all schools reclassified as multi denominational schools.

The denominational classification of schooling is also misleading as there are very few schools, if any, where the pupil role is drawn from children of a single religious denomination. In our increasingly diverse and multi cultural Scotland most schools have children from a wide variety of backgrounds.

Increasingly, parents send their children to their local school for a variety of reasons including convenience irrespective of its religious designation. Those who advocate separate education frequently misrepresent these reasons and distort statistics to claim greater academic success or to maintain that these schools in some way provide higher moral grounding for their pupils.

Elementary examination of Scottish office figures clearly shows that these claims are false.
 
There is a great deal of hypocrisy when faced with reality and all sorts of outlandish claims are put forward in an attempt to justify the indefensible.

Segregated education is wrong.

The segregation of our children also places a very high financial burden on the taxpayers of Scotland.

It is argued that the tiny minority who support separate schools are taxpayers and are therefore entitled to these schools but the vast majority of Scottish taxpayers are subsidising this apartheid regime.

By promoting the argument that a minority group has the right to demand separate schools counter to the wishes of the majority we are surely leaving open the possibility that other pressure groups can demand that their portion of the tax burden should be used in a particular way irrespective of the needs of the community at large.

Money is being diverted away from core educational needs to duplicate resources and manpower.
The disproportionate amounts having to be spent to keep our children apart should be used to provide ever-improving standards for all.

Joint campuses have been promoted as a way of helping to bring school communities together whilst at the same time saving on expenditure. Yet the leading proponents of segregation who represent fewer that 17% of the Scottish population are demanding that even these small-scale changes go to far.

We are reminded of the situation, which existed in the southern states of the U.S.A., which prompted the civil rights movement to flourish, and the situation in South Africa under the apartheid.

Not only do they seek to keep our children apart, they also use every means at their disposal to ensure that institutional religious discrimination remains in force despite the Scottish Parliament having incorporated the European Convention on Human Rights and more recently the Articles of the Amsterdam Treaty into Scots Law.
 
These separatists demand the right, which under Scot's law they have held since 1918, to control the employment of teaching staff in denominational schools despite the fact that the schools are 100% funded by the Scottish taxpayers and are owned and controlled by the Scottish local authorities.
They exercise this right by denying employment to teachers from out with the particular denomination, especially in the primary sector; certain subject areas in the secondary; and most senior promoted posts.
They even deny employment opportunities to members of their own religious group who for any reason fall foul of the religious authorities.

Despite being a small minority within the general population, they exercise undue power and have apparently negotiated an opt out from the Human Rights legislation, and more specifically the Amsterdam Treaty, in order to continue to carry out systematic institutional religious discrimination against men and women employed by local authority education departments across the country.

Now we find that they are issuing ultimatums to our elected leaders to secure separate toilets, staff rooms and corporate logos at the entrances.

At a time when we are being urged to focus on social inclusion and when the Scottish Executive are campaigning on slogans such as One Scotland - Many Cultures, surely it is time to stand up and be counted.

In the Scotland of the 21st century, all of our children should be educated together, teachers should be employed on the basis of their educational qualifications and their suitability to work with young people.
Education authorities should be equal opportunity employers and they should be striving to ensure that the best practices from successful schools should be universally used to ensure the highest possible level of teaching for every child.


We believe in integration as the way forward in Scotland.

Share good practice throughout our schools.

Give our children the right to be educated alongside their friends and neighbours.

Educate them together.

End segregation now.