The life chances of young people in Dundee are being “squandered”, it has been claimed.
Lochee Labour councillor Michael Marra was reacting after new figures said one in 20 young people in the city now leaves school without any qualification.
Although a greater proportion of pupils are now achieving at least one Higher, statistics published by the Scottish Government showed 4.8% of pupils left school without passing an exam last year at SCQF 3, the lowest possible level, up from 4.5% the previous year.
Only Clackmannanshire, at 6%, has a higher proportion of children leaving school without a qualification.
In Angus, the number of pupils leaving school without at least once pass at SCQF 3 fell from 2.9% to 2.3%.
In Perth and Kinross it fell from 1.9% to 1.7%, while in Fife the figure remained static at 2.8%.
Across Scotland, the figures showed the number of school leavers who had at least one pass at Higher level dropped from 62.2% in 2017-18 to 60.5% in 2018-19.
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Education secretary John Swinney described the fall as a “fluctuation” but said the increase in the number of schoolchildren leaving school for a “positive destination” is proof the Curriculum for Excellence is working.
But Mr Marra said: “The time for excuses and platitudes from the SNP in Dundee has long gone. The SNP education record is one of epic failure.
“There seems to be a determination to scupper the life chances of our young people and the future of our city. The number of children Dundee children being failed by the SNP continues to grow year on year.
“Our children start school full of hope and wonder. For every 20 children who started school under the SNP, one child is now leaving without the most basic of qualifications.
“One in 20 is an appalling rate at which to squander human potential. Scotland is paying the price for an incompetent, failed and feckless nationalist government. The record of the SNP in Dundee is even worse.
“The life chances of young Dundonians are diminishing before our eyes.”
‘Myriad’ reasons
But Dundee City Council children and families services convener Councillor Stewart Hunter said there are a “myriad” number of reasons why children may leave without a qualification, including going to college or taking up an apprenticeship.
In some cases, it may be the pupil has left to go to a neighbouring local authority.
He said: “We try to make sure every young person has some qualification. There could be a myriad of reasons why someone leaves without qualifications. It could be completely personal, it could be that school is not right for them.
“We offer a lot more apprenticeships and work closely with the college. It is important for us to stress we try to support young people as much as we possibly can.
“We want to signpost them to the right place so no one is leaving school with nothing behind them or nowhere to go.”
The figures also showed the number of pupils achieving at least one Higher rose by 3.1% over the year to 39.2%. This is up 12.4% over the past decade.
Mr Hunter said: “There has been a lot of hard work put in and I am really pleased for our staff that their hard work has shown this improvement.
“But we are not complacent about it. We realise there is still a lot of work to do.”
Scottish Conservative education spokesman Jamie Greene said: “The SNP has been in complete control of education for 13 years.
“In that time, standards have slipped, teacher numbers have plummeted and now fewer youngsters are leaving with a qualification.
“Parents, teachers and pupils are absolutely fed up by this failing SNP government.”
