News

Row after Gaelic labelled a ‘waste of resources’

Languages and humanities
Scottish children would do better to learn Mandarin, German or Spanish than Gaelic, which is a “waste of resources”, according to a Highland politician.

Inverness councillor Jim Crawford has criticised the government’s £4 million boost to teach more pupils Gaelic as a politically motivated move aimed at winning “yes” votes in next year’s independence referendum.

Alasdair Allan, Scottish minister for languages, and a Western Isles MSP, said the extra money would fund more places for Gaelic lessons across the country in the next two years.

Last month, the first dedicated Gaelic school in Edinburgh was officially opened – with 30 Gaelic speaking staff – making it the third in Scotland. There are now about 60 primaries with Gaelic medium units across the country and some secondary schools teach various courses through the medium of Gaelic.

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