Plenary, 09 Oct 2003

Meeting date: Thursday, October 9, 2003

Official Report 692KB pdf

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Commonwealth (Education)

The next item of business is a debate on motion S2M-468, in the name of Peter Peacock, on Scotland's past, present and future contribution to education in the Commonwealth.

I welcome the opportunity to open this debate on Scotland's past, present and future ties with education throughout the Commonwealth. By the time the Parliament meets again after the recess, one of the biggest international events in Scotland since devolution will have begun here in Edinburgh. I am referring to the 15th conference of Commonwealth education ministers in late October. Scotland will play host to education ministers from 52 countries around the world. The conference will develop and agree an action plan for educational development in the Commonwealth.

At the same time in Edinburgh, some 250 young people from around the Commonwealth will take part in a youth summit, which will feed their perspectives into the ministers' discussions. A parallel symposium in Edinburgh of around 300 experts and academics will address the same themes as the ministers conference. Finally, a showcase of best practice will highlight innovative developments in education in Scotland, the United Kingdom and elsewhere in the Commonwealth. Throughout the whole range of events, the focus will be on practical action: on what can be done and by whom to make a real difference to the life chances of children and young people across the world.

Before proceeding further, Presiding Officer, may I welcome to the public gallery a group of six teachers from the Limpopo province in South Africa, who are visiting Scotland as part of the Scotland-South Africa education interchange. They are working in schools in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Renfrewshire and Falkirk, bringing their experience to Scotland and taking their experience of Scotland back to South Africa. [Applause.]

It is right and fitting that Scotland, on behalf of the United Kingdom, should host the Commonwealth conference. The history of Scotland is written into the history of the Commonwealth. Over the years, countless Scots have contributed to the development of the countries of the Commonwealth, whether as engineers, doctors, educators or missionaries, or whether they were seeking their fortunes or escaping from hardship.

Does the minister agree that it is disappointing and regrettable that the Scottish Parliament is barely involved in what will be the most significant conference to be held in this country since the Parliament opened? Originally, it was planned that the Parliament would be more involved and would entertain the delegates. Will the minister revisit the matter and make efforts to ensure that we meet some of those education ministers, rather than merely debate the matter beforehand?

I will reflect on that suggestion and examine the detailed plans to see what is possible in that regard. It is an important occasion and I would like more members to be involved if that is possible.

Has there been discussion with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office about the possibility of the direct involvement of the Scottish Parliament in the conference, or are we just allowing it to be precious about its role, rather than projecting this Parliament?

It would be fair to say that the principal relationships are with the Commonwealth Secretariat, not the UK Government, which is acting as the host in Scotland in that context. However, I will consider the matter in the spirit in which it has been raised.

As I was saying, over the years, countless Scots have contributed to the development of the countries of the Commonwealth. The Scotland that they travelled from was one that already had well-developed education, some dating from the putting into practice of the vision of the Calvinist manifesto, "The First Book of Discipline" of 1560, which saw education, and especially literacy, as vital to effective religious education. A series of acts of Parliament in the 17th century had led to the establishment of a near universal system of primary education in Scotland—initially for boys, but eventually extended to girls too. The Scottish enlightenment spawned further important thinking and values.

Those who travelled from Scotland, for whatever reason, carried with them a powerful set of values and ideas that were rooted in a commitment to universal education and improvement.

That period in our history has left a lasting influence on the countries to which those Scots travelled. In President Mbeki's speech in this chamber two years ago, he referred to the Lovedale Institute, for many years a beacon of educational development in South Africa. The institute is also the reason why the first name of President Mbeki's father was Govan, as it was founded by the Rev William Govan. Similar stories can be heard across the countries of the Commonwealth.

Of course, in celebrating Scotland's contribution to the Commonwealth, we should not pretend that it was universally positive. Modern ideas of equality, and of respect for other cultures, were far from prevalent and individuals' motives were not always perfect. Nonetheless, there is much to celebrate in the positive contribution that Scots have made, because of which many parts of the Commonwealth still look to Scotland for leadership in education. We still have the opportunity—here, now, today—to make a difference to people's lives throughout the Commonwealth and more widely.

When he addressed us in 2001, President Mbeki gave us a very challenging message about the things that we could continue to do. He reminded us that Scotland, along with other more developed countries, had a basic human duty to work with countries facing serious challenges relating to health, education and poverty and to help improve the future of their peoples.

There are plenty of good examples of Scotland working with the Commonwealth and more widely to promote education. I have already mentioned the education interchange between Scotland and South Africa: just as we have six South African teachers with us today, so six Scottish teachers will travel to South Africa in the new year. One of the South African teachers with us is currently at Shawlands Academy in Glasgow, a school from which a number of teachers have already visited South Africa. Those links grew directly from the live webcam links on the day of President Mbeki's visit.

For the past couple of years, Kelvin School for blind children in Glasgow has enjoyed links with a school in Nigeria that teaches deaf-blind children. Through that exchange, Kelvin School has sent Braille material and equipment to Nigeria and, earlier this year, two Nigerian teachers visited Glasgow. That is just one small-scale but important initiative that is helping others in the Commonwealth and, at the same time, helping our children to develop a positive outlook.

Scottish schools and colleges are involved in some 400 links and exchanges around the world. Through the British Council and the League for the Exchange of Commonwealth Teachers, the Executive supports that kind of exchange to the tune of around £0.5 million a year. Last week, I agreed to provide additional funding over three years to send up to 45 teachers from Scotland on placements of five weeks to projects in South Africa, Ghana and Uganda.

Not only have we had a role in the Commonwealth, we have a role now and I believe that we will have a role in future. The best way in which we can remain relevant and build on our past and present roles is to ensure that we have world-class thinking and practices in Scottish education today, which we do. There are many examples of developments in Scotland being used as a model elsewhere in the world, and not just in the Commonwealth. One of the foremost among those is the model of self-evaluation of schools, which was developed by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Education in "How good is our school?" That approach has generated great interest in many parts of the world: in the Netherlands, in Germany, with the United Nations in refugee areas in the middle east and even as far afield as the Seychelles. Systems across the world now bear many hallmarks of the Scottish approach. Versions of "How good is our school?" have been spotted, I am reliably informed, in Swedish, Spanish and Finnish.

"How good is our school?" links with our school improvement framework, which is based on the national priorities for education. That is a new system, through which the Parliament has agreed national priorities, with local flexibility in implementation and accountability.

Will the minister acknowledge, in addition to the valuable work of HMIE and that involved in "How good is our school?", the work of the former Scottish Examination Board—now the Scottish Qualifications Authority—which still undertakes a lot of consultancy work abroad?

The member anticipates something that I am about to address, so I hope I will not disappoint her in what I am about to say. As I indicated, the new national priority system is implemented locally, with flexibility and accountability at a local level. Our pioneering system is one in which many countries, in Europe and beyond, are showing real interest.

Another good tale to tell the world is that of our assessment of achievement programme, which we plan to gear up and move forward as the Scottish survey of achievement. This is a rigorous and scientifically constructed way of monitoring achievement at levels between five and 14 years, which will give us a clear insight into how our school system is performing. It will allow us to leave behind the recent misuse of five-to-14 testing for national statistical purposes. The survey of achievement is a system of sampling that is keeping us at the leading edge of world practice in monitoring performance in schools.

Scotland is also at the forefront of development in distance learning. For example, Heriot-Watt University's SCHOLAR programme is a truly national programme of e-learning, bringing together a learning community that includes schools and further and higher education. It is a world leader.

The Scottish cultural resources access network—SCRAN—provides an unprecedented level of access to Scotland's heritage collections, using information technology media to make them available to schools, libraries, museums and the general public. It is another world leader.

Representatives of the SQA, the successor to the Scottish Examination Board, were telling me earlier this week about the great interest being shown in China in our national higher qualifications, which are seen by the Chinese as leading the world. Scotland is continuing to play its part in educational development on the world stage by being innovative.

Through our continuing involvement with the Commonwealth, the children of Scotland are helped to develop an open outlook on the world. Yesterday, I attended the launch of a new video produced to mark the conference to be held in Edinburgh. Presented by a young Scot, it tells the story of the African Children's Choir. It brings home to us the difficulties faced by many children in Africa in accessing basic education, but also the optimism of children there, where education is seen as the most precious gift that a child can receive.

We need to remember—perhaps a good deal more often than we do—that while we quite rightly debate highly sophisticated refinements to our already universal and sophisticated education system, many in the Commonwealth are still combating fundamental challenges, including class sizes of over 100; one book between whole classes in many places; a supply of clean water; basic health, as a pre-requisite to good education; good education, as a foundation for improving health; a lack of basic facilities and equipment; and the need to cope with the impact of HIV/AIDS. That scale of challenge is almost unimaginable to us. In Botswana, for example, as many as 4 per cent of all children have at some point lost a teacher to AIDS. In 2001, more than 600 teachers died of AIDS in the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa alone. Those are staggering statistics, which I hope give some context to our challenges and priorities—and to our education debates.

Scotland's history has left it in a unique position. It is prominent in a Commonwealth of nations; it is at once respected and held in fond affection; it is able to support others and to help make a difference; but it is also able to recognise that it can constantly learn from others. The best way we can continue to make a big impact from this small nation is by keeping ourselves at the leading edge of world developments in education, and we are doing so in many areas of endeavour.

In the continuing journey of the Commonwealth's educational development, we all have some way to go, and this month's conference in our capital city is just the latest step on that road.

I move,

That the Parliament welcomes the 15th Conference of Commonwealth Education Ministers to Edinburgh later this month; recognises the contribution Scots have made, and continue to make, to education in the Commonwealth and more widely, and encourages the Scottish Executive to continue to work internationally to support educational development.

I welcome the debate and particularly the spirit of it. Sometimes people ask why we debate issues such as the Commonwealth and conferences, but the Parliament has an important role in marking the 15th conference of the Commonwealth education ministers. Perhaps it would have been better to hold the debate as a members' business debate, because I am sure that the subject will have universal support. Perhaps we should focus on day-to-day domestic issues such as the economy and jobs.

That said, Parliament should recognise the importance of the conference. I am delighted that Edinburgh will host the conference and I am sure that the education ministers and the delegates of the parallel symposium and the education youth summit of the Commonwealth will have a warm welcome from the people of Edinburgh.

One of the most interesting aspects of the conference is its theme—closing the gap—which is appropriate for us, given what we are facing in education and given the legislation that the Executive will introduce in the next few months. The conference will cover access, inclusion and the achievement of individuals' potential. We are in tune with that and recent debates have addressed those issues.

The conference presents an opportunity for Scotland to share with the rest of the world some of our best practice. We should take pride in the promotion of the Scottish credit and qualifications framework. I recognise that the publication "How good is our school?" is being used elsewhere in the world.

We have to address the inequalities that remain in the world, which the Minister for Education and Young People mentioned. Barriers to education are not necessarily to do with education; the minister mentioned health issues, such as AIDS, and poverty. If we want to liberate many more children so that they can have the opportunities that we have had to benefit from education, perhaps we should contribute to world solutions to conflict and poverty. If there is an opportunity for education, we should drive it forward regardless of whether those matters are reserved.

I ask Peter Peacock to explain in his summing up what his role will be at the conference. I hope that Charles Clarke, the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, will not represent us, but that the minister will represent the Parliament. Margaret Ewing and Keith Raffan were concerned that the Parliament seems to be standing on the sidelines of the conference, rather than being involved. Only this week—barely three weeks before the conference—did I receive a notice, as a member of the Education Committee, asking whether I would be interested in taking part in the conference. That notice was a bit belated. I am not saying that it was necessarily the minister's fault, but perhaps he could look into that, or perhaps his officials could advise him before he sums up.

I was interested to learn recently about the initiative from Queen Margaret University College in Edinburgh whereby it is taking its expertise to India to improve the knowledge and skills of Indian nurses. Professor Alan Gilloran, dean of the faculty of health and social sciences, reflected that the initiative is to address issues around the decision making and empowerment of nurses, which requires high-quality education. Indian nurses have substantial practical experience and they are extremely good at community health care. The memorandum of understanding, which is the first of its kind in India, aims to help British nurses learn the skills of community health care in India while the Indian nurses will be given confidence through education that will empower them to be independent, critical thinkers. That kind of collaboration at university level is a tribute to the continuing relationship between Scotland and the Commonwealth countries and I am pleased that we can support it.

Of course, we have a long history of such relationships. The founders of McGill University in Canada were from Scotland and Mary Slessor did missionary work throughout the world, from Africa to India. We have been on the wrong side of too many arguments about Britain's imperial past, as the minister acknowledged. We regret some aspects of our imperial past, but we have to acknowledge it.

If we consider the Commonwealth now, we see a great deal of energy being put into Commonwealth links—links between equals rather than links that reflect the imperial past. We learn from the Commonwealth: many students have come to our universities and many lecturers have contributed to the intellectual wealth of this country. We should pay tribute to them and acknowledge their contribution.

The theme of the conference is

"Closing the Gap: Access, Inclusion, Achievement".

The Scottish Parliament is contemplating additional support for learning in a forthcoming bill, which I am sure will be discussed at the conference. Will the minister reflect on recent inclusion issues that have arisen? I am thinking particularly of the education of asylum seekers. He may want to reflect on the way in which education ministers elsewhere treat the children of asylum seekers in their education services. He may be able to learn from them to ensure that we educate the children of asylum seekers properly.

We have some way to go on disability. We can learn from good practice round the globe. I hope that the work of this chamber over the coming year will be informed by the international meeting of minds and ideas that will take place at the end of October. I regret that the contribution of this Parliament has been almost at the last minute. However, we should now grasp the opportunity for the Parliament to contribute to the conference.

Education is a gateway to the future. Countries round the world can help each other to push the gate wide so that as many children as possible can benefit from the education that they so deserve.

We are glad that Edinburgh is hosting the meeting of Commonwealth education ministers in a few weeks' time. It is an important event and we are committed to Scotland making a strong contribution to education in Commonwealth countries. I declare an interest. In a voluntary capacity, I am chairman of the Edinburgh support group of the charity Hope and Homes for Children, which assists in providing homes for orphans who have been abandoned, neglected or forgotten as a result of their parents being killed in conflict or losing their lives through famine, drought or AIDS. The charity has made a contribution in the Commonwealth—in South Africa—and the Deputy Minister for Education and Young People very kindly supported the issuing of the Scottish school pack last week. I also thank the First Minister for his letter of 2 October in which he wrote:

"I am delighted to hear that Hope and Homes for Children have produced a second Scottish school pack, this time specifically aimed at the Scottish Curriculum. I am sure that it will be a much valued source in schools and help to spread awareness of the work of Hope and Homes."

If any members wish to have copies for their schools in Scotland, I am certain that that can be speedily arranged.

In the past, a considerable number of students from the Commonwealth have studied at Scottish universities. A number have become leaders in their own countries. It is no coincidence that when President Mbeki of South Africa came to this Parliament, he said:

"John Philip, a Scottish missionary, came to South Africa in 1819, and made a profound contribution with regard to exposing thousands of Black people to education, to various skills and to the promotion of a society of equal rights for all, irrespective of colour."

Scotland has made a terrific contribution in the Commonwealth in driving back the frontiers of poverty, ignorance and disease. Much of that has been achieved through education. In 2001, Don McKinnon, the Secretary General of the Commonwealth, said:

"Young people want to be taken seriously, they want to make a difference, and they want a better life for themselves, their families and their countries."

He continued:

"With our support and willingness to empower them, they can be a powerful partner in tackling many of the problems we face today."

Our teachers, volunteers and doctors have played a key role in the Commonwealth ever since the days of David Livingstone. However, that must not obscure the reality that there is a great deal to be done, both in the Commonwealth and at home. The themes of the conference on Commonwealth education concentrate on access, inclusion and achievement. That is right. However, there are two areas of difficulty that the conference should address. First, there are substantial teacher shortages in the Commonwealth. That is a particularly sensitive issue. Britain issued some 6,000 permits to teachers from outside the European Union in 2001. A great many of those teachers came from Commonwealth countries such as India, Jamaica and the smaller Caribbean nations.

Instead of British teachers going to the Commonwealth nations, newly qualified teachers from Commonwealth nations are coming to Britain. The head teacher of Wolmer's Boys' School in Kingston, Jamaica, claimed that recruitment drives were

"doing serious damage to our education system".

I put the question to the Minister for Education and Young People whether we can be absolutely sure that we are producing enough teachers in all subjects—including shortage subjects—such that our education system makes a net contribution to Commonwealth countries and does not act as a magnet to deprive them of their best teachers through a brain drain. I seem to remember Harold Wilson campaigning strongly on the need to prevent the brain drain from Britain to North America resulting from the pursuit of new technology. We took that matter seriously; Commonwealth nations are entitled to take the matter seriously now that it applies to them.

We do not wish to prevent freedom of movement, but it is right that the wealthier industrialised, developed nations should make a substantial net contribution in education. I will be glad if the minister and his officials will look into the matter objectively with a view to making a positive contribution when the matter is discussed at the conference.

Secondly, we should be prepared to learn from Commonwealth countries as much as they learn from us. For example, in 1988 New Zealand restructured its public education system almost overnight. The then Labour Government shifted authority from the central department of education to individual schools. Even Tories are prepared to learn from Labour, as well as the other way around. We would call that an extension of devolved school management, on which the minister spoke so eloquently a few minutes ago. We believe that that should be implemented here, too.

New Zealand also experimented with education vouchers. In 1996, a pilot programme was launched that gave 160 low-income students the opportunity to study at the independent school of their parents' choice. The Government paid the full cost of their fees. Those reforms have been supported and 97 per cent claim to be satisfied under the scheme. We think that there may be scope for pilot schemes in Scotland.

Incidentally, I am pleased that the SQA is now making such a strong contribution in many Commonwealth countries, including in Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago in the Caribbean and in Botswana and Lesotho.

Although we hotly debate education issues, it is incumbent on us to remember that there are literally millions of children in Commonwealth countries who neither attend school nor have any meaningful education. We should therefore engage in constructive debate with education ministers from Commonwealth countries and welcome them most warmly to Edinburgh.

I welcome this debate. The only thing with which I disagreed in Ms Hyslop's speech was her opening sentence, in which she said that the debate ought to have been relegated to members' business. To use the word "relegated" is perhaps unfair, but I am glad that the debate is taking place during Executive time, because the issue is very important.

I congratulate the minister on the breadth of his speech—he has obviously been studying some history—and I am grateful for his positive contribution and the response that he made to my intervention. I do not want to go on about that, but it is important that the Parliament is more involved in the conference. It was originally planned that the Parliament should be more involved, but our involvement has now been reduced to a handful of observers from the Education Committee. That is regrettable. We should have a greater interface with the conference and with the conference ministers, as was originally planned. I think that I speak for the other three members of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association executive in the Parliament in expressing the wish that the minister do his utmost to see whether we can be fitted in somewhere in what I know is a very tight and heavy schedule.

The motion recognises the contribution that Scots have made to education in the Commonwealth. Perhaps the most dramatic statistic that I came across is that no less than six African presidents received a Scottish education: Nelson Mandela of South Africa; Jomo Kenyatta of Kenya; Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana; Kenneth Kaunda of Zambia; Hastings Banda of Malawi; and Julius Nyerere of Tanzania. Indeed, the last two studied here in Edinburgh. Of course, we might wish to lay claim to certain of those more than we would to others, but the impact of Scottish education can be seen in that simple statistic.

Nelson Mandela—who, like the first four, was educated in Scottish missionary schools—put it in a nutshell when he said:

"The missionaries built and ran schools when the Government was unwilling or unable to do so."

Michael Fry is an eloquent Tory but an objective historian—even though he is a Tory he has described them as slow-witted, which shows how objective he is. In his extraordinarily comprehensive history of the Scottish contribution to the outside world, "The Scottish Empire", he said that the presidents

"had all learned they were the equals of the European. In later careers, they proved to him"—

that is the European—

"that Africa was not for him to dispose of as he wished … Once their generation came along, imperial government was doomed and the continent destined to return one day to the rule of its own people."

That is a fair assessment.

As the minister said, it was not just education that was exported; values and ideals were exported along with that education to other Commonwealth countries. That was not a negligible contribution from a small country on the north-west periphery of Europe. I pay tribute to the Conservative Government—the Conservatives were enlightened once—back in the 1960s under Harold Macmillan and Iain Macleod, which undertook the great decolonisation of Africa as the previous Labour Government had, quite rightly, given freedom to India.

What has happened in sub-Saharan Africa has been replicated elsewhere. Fiona Hyslop mentioned McGill University in Canada. Indeed, in the first empire we had quite a lot to do with the creation of Princeton. The Americans do not forget that, although sometimes we do. We made a major contribution in India with Madras Christian College, which produced numerous Oxbridge professors and one President of India. We also made such contributions to education in Hong Kong and China.

What of the present and the future? I whole-heartedly support—as have the other speakers in this debate—the themes of the forthcoming conference, which are access to education, inclusiveness and the opportunity for children and teenagers to realise their full potential. However, as others have said, there are barriers in the way of achieving those goals—poverty, lack of parental support, lack of teacher training, the sheer lack of teachers, as James Douglas-Hamilton said, low standards of teaching, and the poor quality of buildings and classrooms.

I was somewhat disappointed when I looked at the conference website to see no mention of disease, but that was more than made up for by the minister who, quite rightly, mentioned the absolutely devastating impact of HIV/AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa in particular. We are not talking about the lack of parental support there, we are talking about the lack of parents. Due to the horrific HIV/AIDS pandemic there are more than 30 million orphans in sub-Saharan Africa. Tragically, in South Africa 50 per cent of all new HIV infections are among children and teenagers.

In the other countries of Africa the pandemic is hitting hardest those who are not only the most economically active members of the population, but those who are also most likely to have young children. The statistics are quite horrific. In Kenya, 15 per cent of the adult population is living with HIV/AIDS, in South Africa it is more than 20 per cent, in Zambia 21 per cent, in Zimbabwe 34 per cent and, worst of all, in Botswana the figure is 39 per cent. At the moment, 30 million adults are living with AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa. As Fiona Hyslop rightly said, it is important for us to look not just at education, but at what is preventing us from improving education. Clearly, we must help to tackle this devastating health crisis in Africa, and in India where, sadly, the number of HIV infections is increasing at a rapid rate.

It has already been recognised that the United Nations millennium target of free primary education for all children in Africa by 2015 will not be realised, except in seven countries. At Christmas I was in Kenya as an election observer, and one of the main platforms of the National Rainbow Coalition and President Mwai Kibaki was free primary education for all. I will never forget the day before the schools went back in January, seeing shops in downtown Nairobi crowded with parents buying textbooks—what they could afford—notebooks, pencils and rulers for their children. In clothes shops they were even buying uniforms for their children. Such is the huge thirst for education in Africa.

The conference will agree an action plan for educational development in the Commonwealth. I hope that we can contribute in particular to the goal of free primary education for all through teacher training and exchange—as the minister mentioned—through the League for the Exchange of Commonwealth Teachers. I welcome what has been done, but I hope that more can be done, through distance learning, through the British Council, churches and voluntary organisations, and through the contribution to the global fund to fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria, not just in financial terms, but with doctors and nurses too. Scotland has made a major contribution in the past. In helping to improve education in the Commonwealth, we must continue to contribute even more energetically than we have up till now.

I am happy to have the opportunity to take part in the debate that has been called on the occasion of the 15th conference of Commonwealth education ministers. Invitations have gone out to MSPs—mine arrived today—to take part in the open debate that is part of the conference. I hope that the Parliament can facilitate at least a few of us taking part in that debate.

As we have heard, the themes of the conference are inclusion, achievement and closing the gap. Those themes are, as has been said, close to our goals for education in Scotland—and indeed to the whole Scottish Executive programme. However, the kind of education that children are given depends on where they are born. Although some children are lucky in that education is seen as their birthright, others are left behind. The conference gives space for Scotland to show its best practice, and also for us to learn of others' best practice. It will take many years to close the gap in educational opportunity throughout the Commonwealth, but the conference is a chance to exchange ideas and to discuss how real progress can be made and sustained.

I ask the Ministers for Education and Young People to put at the top of their agenda the gap in provision of education for boys and for girls. I serve on the Equal Opportunities Committee where, as members know, there is on-going work to close the opportunity gap in Scotland. However, the first opportunity, without which there can be little progress, is the opportunity to have an education. A postcard campaign to the First Minister has been organised by the Global Campaign for Education, which includes development organisations and all the education and teaching unions in Scotland. One of the pleas on the postcard is that the Executive prioritise education for girls. The postcard says:

"Education—especially girls' education—leads to fewer infant and maternal deaths, healthier families and faster-growing economies."

Educate the girls, and so much follows on. Positive action on a huge scale is required. Positive action is generally rejected by some members, but I recommend that they consider closely the following extreme example of how positive action can—and I hope will—make a difference to reduce the gap. The situation of one girl, Rebecca Lokalii, is illustrated in the campaign. Rebecca says:

"Girls have too much work to do as well as learning."

One of Rebecca's daily chores is to walk 4 km to collect water during her lunch hour. Like so many girls and women throughout the world, her responsibilities hinder her progress. I have seen it happen in Dundee and it can be seen throughout Scotland. Sadly, it often happens with terrible consequences in countries throughout the Commonwealth.

To take advantage of any education on offer, Rebecca, like so many girls, needs extra support. The Global Campaign for Education is calling on world leaders to keep their promises to fund education for all. The demand is for proper funding, with no charges or hidden costs for pupils and, because of the proven link between girls' education and general progress, for greater effort to make it easier for girls such as Rebecca to go to school.

The facts speak for themselves. Worldwide, 860 million adults cannot read or write and two thirds of them are women. In Zambia, rural women with no education are twice as likely to live in extreme poverty as are those who have benefited from between eight and 12 years of education. There is also the stark statistic that the risk of a child's dying prematurely is reduced by around 8 per cent for each year that its mother spent in primary school. That is how important education is, especially for girls.

All children deserve a good education and the consequences of failing to provide it should not be contemplated in the 21st century. I look forward to reading the report of the Edinburgh conference; I trust that it will include realistic targets for closing the unacceptable gap, and that it will show that there is the political will to do it.

I welcome the opportunity to participate in the debate and hope sincerely that the conference that will take place in the next three weeks proves to be successful. I am sure that the delegates will receive a warm welcome from the people of Scotland—at least in spirit if not in weather. I add my voice to the concerns that some members have expressed about the Parliament's lack of a role in the event. I hope that the minister will endeavour to ensure that that is changed.

Our traditional view of the Commonwealth is of a stuffy old organisation that is a hangover from the days of the empire. I confess that I have never been a fan of the empire. However, one thing that distinguishes the Commonwealth today is the benefit that comes from relationships between member nations. Every nation in the Commonwealth is there on an equal footing. The relationships between nation states that have been built up over the years have allowed them to benefit from one another's skills and abilities.

Over the years, Scotland has played a distinctive role in the Commonwealth. As members have said, the lead was taken largely by famous missionaries such as Robert Moffat, John Philip, David Livingstone and John Mackenzie. One of our most radical missionaries was John Philip, who was mentioned by Thabo Mbeki in the chamber and by Lord James Douglas-Hamilton this afternoon. Philip not only made a significant contribution to the development of education in the Cape of Good Hope area of South Africa but was one of the leading lights in campaigning for what was called the Cape ordinance 50, which meant that no legislation could be passed in the Cape if it discriminated against someone on the basis of their colour. Philip was obviously very forward thinking on that issue. Sadly, ordinance 50 was repealed following the establishment of the Union of South Africa in 1910, but Philip sought to prevent discrimination against individuals on the basis of colour and to ensure that education was available to all.

As a number of members have indicated, the challenge that faces the Commonwealth and many of its member nations is that of providing access to education. I know from experience the benefits that access to education can give to individuals. This year I visited South Africa for the third time in six years—I was visiting friends who were students with me at Queen Margaret College. They were black students during the apartheid era and were sponsored by the British Council to come to Scotland to study. Sadly, during that time they were not allowed to study in South Africa. From my visits over the past six years, the benefits that they have gained from the educational opportunity that they received are clear. That example illustrates the potential benefits of education for individuals.

Over the years, many universities and higher education institutions in Scotland have developed strong links with other Commonwealth nations. More than 12 years ago, as a student at Queen Margaret College, I undertook my final clinical placement in a hospital in India. I am glad that the college is continuing to develop its links with hospitals in the Indian health service. Many of our higher education institutions have built up relationships with other universities and colleges in Commonwealth nations that involve exchanges of both students and staff.

Links between younger pupils at primary school level are a key element of the relationships that must be developed within the Commonwealth. In June 2000 Osun Arts Foundation ran a project that was intended to develop understanding of African culture and music in primary schools in Scotland. The project was sponsored in part by the Scottish Arts Council, Falkirk Council and the Highland Council. A school in my locale, Ladeside Primary School, was active in that programme and hosted an African culture and music event. The project helped to nurture and develop understanding of other Commonwealth nations.

In the future, our relationship with other Commonwealth nations will continue to develop and will naturally change. The challenge for the Parliament is to recognise the role that it can play in that process. It is significant that one of the first heads of state to address the Parliament was the President of Malawi. A couple of years ago we were also visited by Thabo Mbeki. The visits by those individuals provided clear evidence of the affinity that they feel for Scotland. The Parliament, its committees and the Executive should look to strengthen their links with other Commonwealth nations. We should examine what we can do to build up a partnership with them—through the health service, education and other services. It is important that we recognise that both we in Scotland and other Commonwealth nations have much to learn from each other. If we are able to achieve that, Scotland will have an active role to play in the Commonwealth—I hope that we will be able to take that role in the coming years.

The 54 member countries of the Commonwealth contain 1.6 billion people. That is more than one quarter of the world's population. More than 50 per cent of that population is under the age of 25.

More than 100 million children around the world have never seen the inside of a classroom and double that number are forced to drop out before they complete primary education. Seventy per cent of those children come from Commonwealth countries.

I am glad that someone of the stature of Eddie George is chairman of the Commonwealth education fund, and I am fully behind its aims. It is so important that Commonwealth children should possess the right to an education and that they learn that along with those rights come a responsibility to use that education for the betterment of themselves and their communities. Let us hope that Scottish teachers will play as important a role as they have done in the past.

Scottish education was famous all over the world because it offered people from every background a solid grounding in useful subjects by which they could make their own way in the world. It emancipated people and gave high standards that people respected and followed. It was the basis of civilised society for a great many people.

McGill University was the first university in Canada; it was founded by James McGill, a fur trader from Glasgow. Even today, many Canadians of Scottish descent are prominent in the modern academic world, such as the economist J K Galbraith and the writer Alistair MacLeod. Australia's first college of higher education was founded in Sydney in 1830 by a Scot, John Dunmore Lang. The most prominent Scot in Australian education in the 20th century was the philosopher John Davidson, who ensured that Australia's higher education system was based on the Scottish model rather than the English one.

In India, the earliest permanent institutions offering western education were founded by two Scots: Alexander Duff in Calcutta and John Wilson in Bombay. In Hong Kong, the education system that is now superior to Scotland's was set up by Frederick Stewart, a crofter's son who ended up as governor of Hong Kong. Scottish influence is legendary.

In South Africa, the first college in Cape Town was also founded by Scots, and the anthropologist W H Macmillan, the son of Scottish missionaries, tried to fend off racial discrimination in the 1930s. Much of black Africa was schooled by Scottish missionaries. People such as Nkrumah, Jomo Kenyatta, Julius Nyerere, Kenneth Kaunda, Hastings Banda and Nelson Mandela were schooled by Scottish missionaries.

In his autobiography, "Long Walk to Freedom", Mandela comments:

"The missionaries built and ran schools when the government was unwilling or unable to do so. The learning environment in the missionary school, while often morally rigid, was far more open than the racist principles underlying the government schools."

It was a Scotsman, the eighth Duke of Argyll, whose influence produced the act that made education compulsory in the United Kingdom in 1872.

Scotland's contribution to education in the Commonwealth in the past has been enormous and the Scottish education model was considered to have no equal, in the same way that Scottish medicine was held in great esteem. Alas, that is hardly the position today.

During the past five years, the Scottish Executive's approach to education, consisting of a centrally planned one-size-fits-all model, has trapped many young people in schools in which there are falling standards and which are plagued by indiscipline. Rather than being emancipated, enlightened or given hope, those children are being let down by this country's politicians who have delusions of adequacy. That is regrettable and I call on the Executive to provide more choice in education and put that right.

As I said, I am glad that Eddie George is in charge of the Commonwealth education fund because he is a proven economist. However, he has a tough fight on his hands. The fund target of £30 million, to which the British Government has committed £10 million, represents only 40p per child in the Commonwealth who is not currently receiving primary education.

My friend Lord James Douglas-Hamilton has pointed out the big problem of teacher shortages in the Commonwealth, which has been sparked by teacher shortages in the UK. Recruitment agencies from Britain and North America are currently recruiting teachers from countries such as Jamaica, India and the West Indies. How can the aims of the Commonwealth conference on education be met when the UK Government's failure to deal with teacher shortages in the UK is causing a teacher drain in other Commonwealth countries? We must put our own educational house in order before anyone will envy the Scottish educational model as they did in the past.

What about the future? The New Zealand model, which James Douglas-Hamilton mentioned in his speech, seems to work very well. After all, 82 per cent of parents there are happy with it. The policy, which shifted authority from the central Department of Education to individual schools, replaced the Department of Education and its 4,000 employees with the Ministry of Education and a staff of only 400. District school boards were replaced by local school boards, which have created working partnerships between teachers and communities. I hope that other Commonwealth countries will consider that model when they come to set up their schools. Decision making should be as close to the school as possible and the curriculum should have the flexibility to suit the needs of different communities and areas.

In this ever-changing world, the Commonwealth is still a pillar of strength and must continue into the future. We in Scotland and the UK must ensure that we play our part in achieving good education for all Commonwealth citizens. Surely it would be appropriate for this Parliament to play some welcoming role in the coming conference. Will the minister take account of the thinking of all parties on this issue?

I, too, am happy to join members in welcoming this special conference to Edinburgh. I am sure that, like many visitors, our Commonwealth visitors will fall in love with this wonderful city of ours and with the Scottish people. After all, Scotland has been part of the history of many of our visitors.

I want to take a slightly different approach to the debate. I recognise that the conference's themes are very specific. However, I support other members' view that there should be interaction between Scottish parliamentarians and parliamentarians from other parts of the Commonwealth, because it is clear that the parliamentarians at the conference will educate each other. The whole thrust of the CPA's work has been learning and sharing of experience. That has gone on over many years; it was one of the primary aims when the association was founded in 1911. Indeed, the UK played its part in that foundation. For that very reason, it is particularly important that Scottish parliamentarians have the chance to interact with other parliamentarians when the conference takes place.

In his press release, the First Minister reminded us of how the whole world felt the impact of the events of September two years ago. That is why we have to learn best practice from each other as parliamentarians at this conference as well as at many other CPA events.

While looking on the internet in preparation for this debate, I discovered that the CPA website now provides e-learning for every parliamentarian, with modules that supply information about what happens in other legislatures. I am sure that we all need that. In fact, the papers that I am holding up represent a whole e-learning module from the site. Members and everyone across the Commonwealth will find such information particularly interesting, although it might pose particular problems for people in parts of the Commonwealth that do not benefit from the same wonderful access to the internet as we do in this Parliament. We can access anything that we want to and people can access us if they want. I commend these e-learning modules to members and hope that, even if they do not need to use them, they will still have a look at them.

I was very pleased to be part of a group of members including Keith Raffan, Fiona Hyslop and Margaret Ewing that attended one of the two British islands and Mediterranean region conferences that have been held in the UK. I am sure that those members would agree that we learned a tremendous amount about the issues that challenge other Parliaments and about the protocols and procedures that they have adopted and how some of them could be brought back to our Parliament. We have also learned about procedures that might be exported from our Parliament.

The bottom line of what I am saying to the ministers is that we applaud their work, which is first class, and that it is important for the Parliament to be involved. Sylvia Jackson is not here, but she and other members are involved heavily with the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association. I wish those members well in their endeavours and I encourage other members to become much more fully involved in the work of the association, which exists for particular reasons.

I finish with a plea to the ministers. I am sure that during the conference there will be many events to showcase the talents of young people from throughout Scotland. I remind ministers that the Lochgelly High School pipe band, who are world champions, could be showcased at such an event. I am sure that the band would be delighted to be involved.

I enjoyed attending the conferences to which Helen Eadie referred. We learned a great deal at them—they were not simply junkets, which many people seem to think about such conferences.

Helen Eadie mentioned the Lochgelly pipe band. When I was a Commonwealth observer in Lesotho during the previous elections there, I was once awakened at 2 o'clock in the morning by the sound of bagpipes. Members of the secretariat from London were working through the night on finalising the report and they blamed me because they were convinced that I had something to do with it. In fact, the person behind the sound was Allan Macartney, who was formerly the vice-president of the Scottish National Party and who spent a lot of time working in Malawi and other countries in Africa. He had been an observer previously in Lesotho and had taught people there how to play the bagpipes, so at every big function, the bagpipes materialised. Mind you, at 2 o'clock in the morning, I thought that I was having a nightmare.

The debate is about education and, being a teacher, I start with the question of what we mean by the Commonwealth. I remember that, when I started school, there were many red blotches on the map of the world. We were told that the powers were coming to Britain because the sun rose first in China and then moved its way through Greece and Rome and, finally, Britain would be in charge of the world. Let us consider the word "commonwealth". "Common" means without special qualities, rank or position or equally, and for the whole of a community. "Wealth" is defined as an abundance of valuable possessions or money, or as the state of being rich. However, the word "wealth" is derived from the Old English word "weal", which means a sense of being well or well-being. The phrase "the common weal of the people", which we often use in Scotland, is what we mean when we talk about the Commonwealth as we know it.

I do not want to dwell too much on the past. Other members have spoken eloquently about the history and record of people who have contributed to education throughout the Commonwealth. We are moving away from the imperialist tradition, to which Michael Matheson referred, and gaining a sense of equality with all of our neighbours in the Commonwealth. That idea is very different from that with which our early missionaries and others set out.

The debate is about our contribution to education—there are many contributions that we can still make. I caught the tail end of a television programme the other night which involved an exchange between an Australian teacher and a Scottish teacher. The only moan from the Australian teacher was about the weather—she could not wait to get back to the sunshine. That minor complaint was the only one about her experiences in Scotland; members might often share it.

It is important that we recognise the exchange of information. The people from Limpopo province who were in the public gallery earlier have now departed, presumably for yet another meeting. We must not ignore some Commonwealth countries. We can talk a great deal about Australia, Canada and New Zealand, where most of us have cousins, second cousins, nieces or nephews. However, there are whole areas of the Commonwealth that fundamentally need the attention of us all.

Some 10 years ago, I went to a conference in Zimbabwe, under the auspices of the British Council, to talk about equality of opportunity for women in Zimbabwe. I know that Zimbabwe is suspended from the Commonwealth just now. Lynda Chalker—a Conservative for whom I have the highest regard—and I talked to women there who were becoming teachers and lawyers and who were taking up professional courses. They told us that back home, many miles away, their sisters were walking for hours to collect water from the only available well and take it back to their villages. The women to whom we talked asked what equality of opportunity there was for their sisters. Irrespective of our political loyalties, all of us as elected members have a responsibility to ensure that we do not neglect those people.

I am going to say something controversial—the minister will be glad to hear that it is nothing to do with him, as I have made my girn to him already—as I want to talk about basic needs. I will quote Bjørn Lomborg, whom many people—including the Greens, who are not here—regard as the devil. In his book, he says that

"the Kyoto Protocol will likely cost at least $150 billion a year, and possibly much more. UNICEF estimates that just $70-80 billion a year could give all Third World inhabitants access to the basics like health, education, water and sanitation."

We can talk all we like about our contribution to Commonwealth education, but we must back that up by addressing the basic issues. During the forthcoming conference in Edinburgh, we must not use just honeyed words. The legacy that our generation of politicians has inherited is such that we owe a debt of conscience to the people of Africa, in particular, but also to people in other parts of the Commonwealth, to ensure that we take best practice to them.

I see that my time is up. I close by remembering that beautiful song called "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother", which was a hit for the Hollies in the 1960s. I believe that we must see this not as a burden, but as a challenge, and that we must help our brothers and sisters everywhere in the Commonwealth.

I am pleased to take part in this brief but important debate that presages the 15th conference of Commonwealth education ministers, which is to be held in Edinburgh at the end of the month. The previous CCEM was held in Nova Scotia in 2001. At that conference, Jack McConnell—the then Minister for Education, Europe and External Affairs—put forward the idea that Scotland would make an ideal venue for the 15th CCEM, and I am delighted that our First Minister's suggestion was taken up.

The conference will be probably the largest education conference in the world this year, and I am glad to say that the union of which I am a member—the Educational Institute of Scotland—is to play a prominent part in the parallel symposium associated with the event. The conference's theme, as has been stated, is closing the gap in access, inclusion and achievement. The conference director, Elizabeth Williamson, is on record as saying that it will be no talking shop. I am sure that members are glad to hear that. Ms Williamson's view is that the conference must consider closing the gap

"not just between Commonwealth countries, but within countries".

She takes the realistic position that no instant solutions are possible, but that

"sitting back and doing nothing is not an option either."

There is, of course, much to do. Margaret Ewing and Marlyn Glen spoke eloquently about the real challenges. Worldwide, 115 million children are being denied an education: most of them are girls and most of them live in Commonwealth countries. That is a damning indictment of much of our imperial past and what flowed from it when the sun set on the days of empire. I am heartened that the conference that is to be held in Edinburgh will seek to put together a positive programme of action to begin to redress a most basic injustice.

I mention one of the many initiatives with which Scotland is involved to right that wrong. Others have mentioned the six teachers from South Africa who were in the public gallery a few moments ago. They are in Scotland as part of the new Scotland-South Africa education interchange. I believe that that new initiative, although not formally part of the 15th CCEM, is a practical example of the modern Commonwealth at its best. I do not refer to the imperialist concept of the Commonwealth, but to a society of equals.

The initiative brings mutual benefits to pupils and to the wider education system. Four local authorities are participating in the first year of a three-year pilot. As the minister said, the South African teachers are working in Edinburgh, Falkirk, Renfrewshire and Glasgow until 9 November. I am also glad to say that six teachers from those Scottish local authorities will go to the Limpopo province in February next year for 10 weeks.

As an MSP from Glasgow, the city that first honoured Nelson Mandela, I am delighted to see Scottish local authority workers taking part in an exchange that seeks to undo the horrific legacy of the former racist apartheid regime. The teachers from Scotland will be based in Greater Sekhukhune—a former homeland that is building an education system virtually from scratch. In South Africa, classes of 100 are not out of the ordinary and pupils can walk up to 10 miles to school. I am told—I am sure that the chamber will be glad to hear this—that people's completely understandable resistance to education because of their experience of the former apartheid regime's imposition of its racist caricature of education has melted away. In its place is a thirst for knowledge; suspicion has been set aside and there is a desire for learning in the new democratic South Africa.

The new South Africa has prioritised primary education, particularly in the early years, mathematics, science and school management. Teachers from both countries will not be based in any one school, but will sensibly act as a resource for schools and subject departments in the local authority that they will work in.

That example is typical of the many initiatives that are under way, but so many more are still needed to bridge the gap in educational opportunity, which is the central focus of the 15th CCEM. Members will wish to celebrate that example of co-operation, which is a significant symbol of the solidarity between the people of Scotland and the people of South Africa. However, it is also illustrative of the Herculean task of achieving equality of opportunity and outcome. A colossal collective effort will be required to achieve the six CCEM area action priorities of universal primary education, improving quality in education, abolishing gender disparities, using distance learning to greater effect, supporting education in difficult circumstances, and mitigating the impact of HIV/AIDS on education systems. I hope that the conference will play its part in focusing Government attention on the challenge.

Poverty leads to poverty of provision and poverty of ambition. Education can help to release the wealth of potential, untapped talent and latent ability in those 115 million human beings to whom I referred earlier who do not have the chance to be educated. I wish the conference and its aims well because there is so much to do.

We move now to closing speeches. At this stage, we are 10 minutes ahead of the clock. I call Kenneth Macintosh to close for the Labour party.

I thank my colleagues and MSPs from all parties for their contributions to today's debate—with the possible exception of Jamie McGrigor, although that may be a bit small minded of me.

I would like to raise a couple of points of my own and, in doing so, I want to talk not so much about Scotland's contribution to the Commonwealth as about the Commonwealth's contribution to education in Scotland. My first point concerns a specific matter that I want to bring to the attention of the Deputy Minister for Education and Young People. Exchange programmes for pupils and teachers within the Commonwealth are a constructive example of what can be achieved and how we can share knowledge and experiences and learn from one another. That is something that Mr Peacock referred to in his opening speech.

A constituent of mine was lucky enough recently to go on just such a teacher exchange with a school in Australia. It was clearly a rewarding experience and potentially very beneficial, as the school that she attended and taught in, which was in Victoria, excelled in vocational and entrepreneurial education. From what my constituent told me, there is much that we could learn from how the Australian school had broken down the artificial barrier that sometimes exists between vocational and academic education and developed ways of supporting pupils and offering real choices. Given this morning's debate and our desire to promote entrepreneurial education, that is obviously a topical lesson.

Unlike her Australian counterpart, however, the Scottish teacher was offered little in the way of structured opportunity to share what she had learned when she came back from the exchange. There was a minimal debriefing and, although she wrote up a report, there was little or no feedback on that report, which she has reason to believe may be languishing on a shelf now. That may or may not be typical of the welcome home offered to exchange teachers, but it is disappointing, and I urge the minister to consider what mechanisms could be put in place to allow the wider community, or even just the teacher's school, to benefit from what can obviously be a very positive individual learning experience.

Turning to the forthcoming Commonwealth conference, I offer a particularly warm welcome, as Fiona Hyslop did earlier, to the parallel youth summit. Not only do I hope that we will gain from listening to the perspective of our young people, but the occasion itself is a fantastic educational opportunity for all concerned. From my own constituency, Amy Little from Mearns Castle High School and Kenneth Waterstone from Eastwood High School are two senior pupils who have been selected to represent their schools, East Renfrewshire and our country at the conference, and to host two of the visiting delegates. Amy and her family will offer their hospitality to a pupil from Samoa, and I know from talking to her last week how much she is looking forward to that. I have no doubt that both Kenneth and Amy will be excellent ambassadors for our education system, and I also look forward to hearing their views following the conference.

As many speakers have mentioned, the theme of the youth conference—access, inclusion and achievement—echoes that of the conference as a whole. We all know how important those issues are in Scotland. We are all aware of the need to widen access, particularly in further and higher education, by pursuing policies that will include looked-after young people, pupils with special educational needs or additional support needs, and those from the travelling communities, to raise achievement across the board. Those important themes are high on our agenda, but the same three issues take on a different meaning when looked at from a Commonwealth perspective.

When we talk about access, we know that, of the 115 million across the globe who cannot access education, up to 75 million are primary-age children who do not attend school. When we talk about inclusion, we know that two thirds of those missing out on a basic education are girls. That point was made forcefully by Marlyn Glen and Bill Butler. When we talk about achievement, we know that more than 800 million adults worldwide remain illiterate. The scale of the problems facing countries in the Commonwealth is simply staggering. Although they are tied up with issues of armed conflict, poverty, health, debt repayment and fair international trade, the crucial and central role of education cannot be overstated.

Does Kenneth Macintosh agree that educational development can also be affected by the impact on many children around the world of the widespread proliferation and misuse of arms that results in armed violence? Will he join me in welcoming today's launch of the control arms campaign, backed by Amnesty International, Oxfam and the International Action Network on Small Arms, and in urging the Scottish Executive to support the campaign where it can?

I welcome Elaine Smith's intervention and certainly support her on that matter. In fact, I will mention it before I close, if I have your indulgence, Presiding Officer.

It is important that an awareness of the matters that the conference will raise is encouraged in our schools. A greater understanding of the difficulties that young people in the Commonwealth face should be regularly taught in our classrooms. The Executive has done much over the past four years to promote sustainable development and development education, and I urge ministers to take advantage of such a notable event in Scotland to send out a clear, strong message to schools on the importance of including sustainable development in the curriculum.

The Commonwealth may have learned from Scotland, but we have also learned from the Commonwealth and continue to do so. Just as I want schools to offer young people a window on the world, I welcome the opportunity for the Parliament to look outward and share ideas that are of international concern and not just of parochial interest. Several members raised that point this afternoon.

Elaine Smith mentioned that the subject arose at today's lunchtime meeting of the cross-party international development group of the Scottish Parliament. In that meeting, we explored the Scottish Parliament's role in trying to control the global trade in small arms. The Parliament has been established for more than four years, but we still need to do much to develop a framework that not only is sensitive to Westminster's responsibilities and avoids provoking unnecessary constitutional wrangling, but allows us to express our opinions maturely and to look elsewhere for enlightenment and inspiration. Today's debate has allowed us to do that and I commend the Executive's motion.

I begin with a quotation:

"dic, age, frigoribus quare novus incipit annus,
qui melius per ver incipiendus erat?"

I am sure that few members in the chamber will have failed to recognise the opening lines of Ovid's "Ode to Spring" and even fewer will not be able to translate it as, "Isn't it a pity that new year does not begin in spring instead of in the deep mid-winter?"

My purpose in quoting Ovid today is twofold. In a debate that is mainly about allowing the Executive to pat itself on the back for persuading the Commonwealth education ministers to hold their conference in Scotland, it does not seem too self-indulgent for me to give myself a pat on the back for remembering my schoolboy Latin all these years later. Much more important, it seems to me that the ability to absorb and retain knowledge is the hallmark of the education that dedicated Scots have been taking to Commonwealth countries for more than two centuries.

Dr Andrew Bell, the great education reformer who devised the Madras or monitorial system of education in India in the late 18th century, taught not only the three Rs of "reading, riting and 'rithmetic"—he was not too good at spelling—but the rudiments of Latin, including the learning of poetry by rote to his British and Indian pupils. Clearly, some aspects of Bell's teaching methods have not changed a lot since they were first taught in India two centuries ago or the time I attended the high school that he founded in his native St Andrews.

Of course, much has changed in the way in which we teach our youngsters in schools today. We are told that learning by rote is out of date and that it works against real understanding. Members will be glad to hear that I do not advocate its return. Latin opened up huge vistas for my generation but I accept that, for many, learning dead languages is outdated and meaningless. However, it disappoints me that the modernisers, in throwing out much of what was considered old fashioned in Scottish elementary education, failed to hold on to the bedrock of the system—the ability of pupils to read, write and count. As it appears that we cannot get the basics right in our own country, it seems ironic that we have the temerity to offer advice on education to emergent Commonwealth countries.

The theme of the forthcoming conference is closing the gap and, as we have heard, the conference will focus specifically on access, inclusion and attainment. The truth is that, while we debate those goals for emergent Commonwealth countries, we are failing to achieve them here in Scotland.

On access, the Executive remains committed to the existing centrally planned model for our schools that is sadly failing so many of our young people. In recent years, that approach has seen increasing violence in the classroom, wasted millions on bureaucracy and no apparent improvement in attainment.

On inclusion, if we wanted to design a school system with the express aim of perpetuating social divisions, it is hard to envisage how we could improve on existing arrangements.

On attainment, more than 50 per cent of pupils between five and 14 in Scottish schools are failing to reach targets. The Executive, to cover its failings in raising attainment levels, apparently plans to abolish national testing. I have visited several primary and secondary schools in Mid Scotland and Fife in recent weeks. A number of those schools do superb work, but that often appears to be despite the system in which they work rather than because of it.

Is Mr Brocklebank saying that the Conservative party's position is that it no longer supports the comprehensive state education system and wants to go back to selection and the disasters that befell people of my father's and grandfather's generations, when there was a junior and senior secondary divide? Can he elucidate?

I am sad that Mr Butler appears to believe that the education system in those days failed people. I am not saying what Mr Butler suggested. I believe that, after the passage of the years, we should be grown-up enough to realise that much of what we threw away in years past was of considerable value and should not have been thrown away.

I welcome the Commonwealth conference and I welcome much of what has been said in the debate about the plight of underdeveloped countries. Margaret Ewing's speech was particularly thoughtful and articulate in that respect and I agree with much of what she said about the plight of people in the developing countries. It is a sobering thought that we are seeking to ensure that, by 2015, every Commonwealth child completes a primary education. Why should the Commonwealth countries that will attend the conference necessarily believe us when it seems that we cannot deliver that aim for our own primary schoolchildren?

Of course I applaud and support investing money in the Commonwealth education fund in order to raise standards. However, after doing that we go on to rob Commonwealth countries of their most vital weapon in the battle against illiteracy. Statistics show that in 2001 we poached no fewer than 6,000 teachers, mostly from the Commonwealth, in order to fill teaching posts as a result of shortages in the UK. I was happy to hear from Peter Peacock that 45 Scottish teachers will be able to build their management skills by working on education projects in Africa. I applaud and welcome that initiative. However, what if we were to help Commonwealth teachers to hone their skills in exactly the same way in our country, without expecting them to stay on and prop up what appears to be a creaking system?

We must continue to support the millions of Commonwealth citizens who have no access to education. We must also be prepared to learn from Commonwealth countries such as New Zealand, which has pioneered levels of accessibility to and attainment in education that we in Scotland still only dream about.

I am nearly finished.

Andrew Bell's system for educating the poverty-stricken and illiterate 250 years ago was simple. He introduced to India a scheme whereby children who grasped what he was teaching could pass on that knowledge to their younger brothers and sisters. Andrew Bell called that his monitorial system. He brought his methods back to the UK and his system swept through the country, allowing hundreds of thousands of underprivileged youngsters their first taste of education.

It is a sad indictment of Bell's native Scotland that, 250 years later, we still appear to be grappling with the human fallout of an education system that is not geared to teaching our youngsters adequately and which, as we heard during this morning's debate, often fails to produce the culture of enterprise that our country so desperately needs.

I look forward to the conference, which I hope to attend. However, I feel less sure about what the Commonwealth countries will learn from our educational examples. I hope that we have something to teach them.

The debate has been interesting. I would have liked to have said that we had heard from all the parties and that we had an international perspective on education. However, those parties that espouse the brotherhood of man and international relations are noticeable by their absence from the chamber.

I am pleased that the Executive parties chose to debate a subject that might be regarded as being connected to the reserved matter of international affairs, and I am delighted that they were able to do so in a consensual manner. They have not attacked us, which is unusual.

The debate could easily have descended into a round of "Here's tae us! Wha's like us?" Although it threatened to do so once or twice, I am glad that it did not. A wide range of issues has been highlighted. It ill behoves us, when having such a debate, to focus on our differences on such issues as the diversity of education in Scotland—or the lack of it—and the other problems that Scotland faces, given that those problems pale into insignificance when compared to the problems faced by other Commonwealth countries.

I am happy to endorse what the Executive has done in relation to the South African education interchange. That is a small programme, but is no less worth while for that. I was delighted to hear what was said about the involvement of Queen Margaret University College in the training of Indian nurses and am happy that the SQA framework is seen internationally as being something to aspire to. I am glad that the value of the integrated approach that is taken in our education system is recognised and can be translated in other countries.

There has been some mention of our imperial past today. Last weekend, I heard a radio programme on the subject of Nyasaland, which was part of the Rhodesian Federation and is now the independent country of Malawi. As other members have noted, many African leaders received a Scottish education and Hastings Banda of Malawi was no different. The radio programme gave voice to a considerable resentment of the colonial approach of the British empire but there was also a considerable appreciation of the education that was given and the fact that it was given in a non-discriminatory way. The educationists had the attitude that everyone should be helped, rather than the attitude that is evident even in our society today, that knowledge is power and is not to be shared by the powerful but used to exploit others. That is not the approach that we should take; we should try to share knowledge so that we can all benefit from it. That is the approach that was taken by many of the Scottish missionaries who went to Malawi to set up mission schools in areas in which there was no educational provision by either the imperial or the post-imperial power. Of course, I should mention that, in those schools, the children were not instructed only in the three Rs—regardless of whether we can spell or not—but in other areas that might be regarded as inappropriate today.

That tradition of offering help continues today. However, sometimes that help is not offered in an altogether altruistic manner. We still welcome many students from the Commonwealth to this country, but, as part of the debate that we are having around the future of higher education in Scotland, it has been pointed out that Scotland receives £195 million a year from them. It is good that we have such diversity in our universities, but I hope that the focus is not just on what we can get from Commonwealth students in terms of finance, but on what we can give them and on what we can learn from them. It is important for our young people to mix with people from all over the world, so that their experience can be enriched.

I am looking for guidance as to how much longer I might have, Presiding Officer.

We are still ahead of the clock, so I can give you a couple of minutes to wind up. I will let you know if there is a problem.

Thank you.

Let me highlight what has happened in Aberdeen, where I live. The Robert Gordon University has been very successful in developing courses that are relevant to the needs of many Commonwealth students from the far east. It has been so successful in attracting those students that it feels it necessary to hold graduation ceremonies in the far east—ceremonies are held not only in the Music Hall in Aberdeen but in Singapore, Hong Kong and elsewhere. That is taking Scottish education right out to the world. It allows the families of the students who have come to Scotland and who have benefited from their education to see how important Scottish universities regard that education—they are prepared to ensure that the families can share in the special event that is graduation by taking the ceremony elsewhere. That is an example of the positive links that we should be continuing to develop for the future.

Members have been right to point out the difficulties that countries, particularly in Africa, that are under the burden of heavy international debt experience in delivering any education, let alone any other public service; to describe such countries as "more unfortunate" would be to use the wrong term. We need to recognise those difficulties. As parliamentarians and as Scots, it is our duty to encourage our Government to continue to raise the level of support that it is prepared to give in the form of international aid and development and to ensure that giving aid is not tied to arms contracts, kickbacks or any other arrangement that does not allow the necessary choices to be made in the countries that are receiving the aid.

We need to facilitate conditions in which clean water, appropriate health care and basic education can be provided. They cannot be provided unless the finance is in place. As long as those countries continue to service unreasonable levels of international debt, they will never be able to achieve the modest goals that have been set, for example for every child to receive primary education at some point, and perhaps in this decade.

The debate has been very worth while, and I wish the Commonwealth education ministers every success in their conference.

Today's debate has been an important occasion and there have been some excellent speeches, highlighting Scotland's contribution to education across the Commonwealth and anticipating the 15th conference of Commonwealth education ministers. It is worth reflecting for a moment that the Commonwealth has 54 member nations and that its 1.8 billion people make up one third of the world's population and live on one third of the world's land mass. The scale of Scotland's achievements has to be seen in that context. The debate has highlighted much of the excellent work that is being done in the Commonwealth and further afield, in which Scotland is taking part.

In the light of what the minister is saying and will probably go on to say, and considering what has been said about the exemplary work of HMIE and the Scottish Examination Board, as well as the unprecedented investment that was put into education under the McCrone settlement, does he agree that Ted Brocklebank's comments about the demise of the education system in Scotland were somewhat exaggerated, particularly in relation to primary education?

I could not have put those remarks better. It is a shame that Mr Brocklebank chose today to unwrap his parcel of assorted prejudices.

Some aspects of our involvement in education in the Commonwealth and in the conference have only been touched on. As Peter Peacock said at the start of the debate, as well as the ministers conference and the parallel symposium, the conference will play host to 250 or so representatives of the young people of the Commonwealth at the first ever education youth summit of the Commonwealth, which will be held in Murrayfield stadium.

At the same time, a showcase of best practice in education will be held in the Edinburgh International Conference Centre. I will investigate the opportunities for greater parliamentary involvement, as requested by Keith Raffan, Fiona Hyslop, Michael Matheson, Jamie McGrigor, Margaret Ewing, Helen Eadie and a number of others—the list of names demonstrates the strength of feeling throughout the Parliament. The Education Department has not been involved primarily in the organisation of the event, but I will take the comments on board, as that is clearly the wish of members.

The showcase of best practice will display good practice in the UK and throughout the Commonwealth and to date almost 80 exhibits have been planned. They come from schools, universities, local authorities and other organisations and include real and virtual demonstrations of some of the best and most innovative current developments in education. They will concentrate on the involvement of young people in new educational processes and will feature examples of best practice relating to the conference themes. The event will also include creative and performing arts events for young people and demonstrations of the use of new technology for international links. Examples of that include a school project with a real-time link to Ghana and a project based in Govan that is designed to encourage disaffected young people back into further education.

I turn to a constituency example of the involvement of young borderers in the Commonwealth. Africom is based in high schools in the Borders. Each participating school runs an autonomous project. For example, in Hawick High School young people raise funds for a rural hospital in Kenya. Kelso High School is involved in sending refurbished computer equipment to Tanzania and a container of over 200 computers is en route. I pay tribute to Techknowledgy and to the late Andy Mark of Kelso, who did so much to develop that excellent initiative. Each year an Africa day is held in one of the schools—this year it will be in Earlston High School—to promote mutual cultural understanding and enrichment. It is hoped that it will enable student exchange visits to take place in future.

I turn to examples that members gave. I had heard about Queen Margaret University College's initiative on nursing in India. I was privileged to have Lord James Douglas-Hamilton invite me to the launch of the schools pack for the Hope and Homes for Children charity. I pay tribute to the work of that charity and to Lord James for the efforts that he has made on the charity's behalf in Edinburgh and throughout Scotland. One of the memories that I have of that day is hearing about the young girl aged 15 in Rwanda whose ambition was to own a pair of shoes. That puts into perspective some of the debates that we have.

Keith Raffan mentioned the devastating health crisis in Africa and the thirst for education in Kenya. Establishing free primary education for all is one of the objectives of the conference. Bill Butler mentioned work in South Africa where there can be 100 children to a class and children walk 10 miles to school.

Ken Macintosh mentioned a particular teacher exchange. If he passes me the details, I will be happy to take up the questions of the debriefing received by his constituent and the report that seems not to have been followed up on.

An important part of the 15th conference is the youth summit. That innovation is a forum for young people from all Commonwealth countries to debate the education issues that matter to them and to contribute their conclusions and recommendations to the Edinburgh communiqué, which will close the conference.

A total of 52 member countries, eight overseas territories and three Crown dependencies are each sending two delegates to Edinburgh. They are being sponsored by UK bodies, made up from local authorities and educational establishments—universities and colleges. Each host body has agreed to meet all travel and accommodation costs for the youth summit delegates. That means that those young people from all over the world—some from very resource-poor countries, who could never have afforded to come to such an event—can participate at no cost to themselves. By enabling delegates to share ideas, experiences and talents, the youth summit will encourage them to identify their vision of education and inspire them to celebrate cultural diversity and Commonwealth values.

This first ever education youth summit will debate issues within the overarching conference theme of

"Closing the Gap: Access, Inclusion, Achievement".

It will consider how that theme can be fed into action plans for the future of education in the delegates' own countries.

Lord James Douglas-Hamilton raised the important issue of teacher supply, which will be discussed at the conference. I cannot say that there will be a ready solution to what is undoubtedly a problem—although a problem that is not especially prevalent in Scotland, being more of a UK phenomenon. I assure Lord James that we are investing in initial teacher education here in Scotland. We are conscious of the problem that he spoke about. [Interruption.]

Order. There is far too much chatting in the chamber.

At the conference, there will be several opportunities for contact between youth delegates and education ministers—at the opening ceremony and the opening session, and at a joint lunch on Wednesday 29 October at Murrayfield. The conclusions and recommendations arising from the youth summit discussions will be presented to the Commonwealth education ministers in a plenary session in the late afternoon of Wednesday 29 October.

I am very interested in what the minister says about the youth summit. However, if he has time, it would be helpful if he could explain what exactly he and Peter Peacock, as ministers representing the Parliament and the Executive, will be doing at the conference.

I was about to come on to that very point. Ministers, whose conference does not end until the afternoon following the plenary session that I mentioned, will have time to incorporate the input from the young people in drawing up the Edinburgh communiqué. To answer Ms Hyslop's question directly, the First Minister, Peter Peacock and I will be chairing particular sessions of the conference. We will engage with the delegates at the youth summit and with ministers from across the Commonwealth.

The opportunities for the young delegates will continue over the following week when they set off to visit their host organisations across the UK and take part in a week-long programme involving family home stays, visits to educational establishments and social and cultural activities with young Britons. The sponsorship arrangement ensures that the follow-on visits to the host organisations, like attendance at the conference, will be free to the youth delegates and their countries. The visits will add value by providing a more in-depth experience of Scotland and the rest of the UK. I am sure that the reception that our young guests from around the Commonwealth will be offered in Scotland, and the experiences that they will have, will make a lasting impression. Members will, I am sure, want to wish the delegates a successful and rewarding time.

On a similar theme, Presiding Officer, I take this opportunity to inform you that Scotland has recently been awarded the opportunity to host the world congress of youth in 2005. That international event—which follows the first millennium youth congress in Hawaii in 1999 and, more recently, the second congress in Morocco—is being organised by Peace Child International in partnership with the Scottish Executive and Scottish voluntary organisations. At the world congress in Scotland, I am sure that the youth delegates will have a number of challenging debates and discussions. It is essential for young people to confront intractable problems—as they did in Morocco—to ask hard questions and to try to find new ways to answer age-old questions.

In hosting the world congress of youth in 2005 and the 15th congress of Commonwealth education ministers later this month, we demonstrate that Scotland's historic interest in continuously improving education and in providing the best possible opportunities for young people remains as strong today as it has always been. The congress and conference clearly show that Scotland can and does play a major role in those fields and on the world stage.