€5m Gaelic school has no head
October 12, 2012
IT was given £ 4m (€ 5m) to become established and has more than 150 willing pupils. But for a Gaelic school in Scotland there is still one snag – it cannot find a head teacher that speaks the language. Bunsgoil Ghaidhlig Inbhir Nis, or Inverness Gaelic primary school in the Highlands, has failed seven times in the past three years to recruit a Gaelic speaker for the £ 48,000- a- year post. It even had to rely on a Swedish teacher, who has been learning the language, to act as head. But Annika Jansson is leaving and her only potential replacement is a non- Gaelic speaker.
Critics of the school said the failure underlines the “futility” of trying to keep Gaelic alive as a first language and is a waste of money. Parents of the 155 pupils have launched their own attempt to fill the position with a qualified head. Jim Crawford, an Inverness councillor, said: “To have a head teacher from Sweden in a Gaelic- speaking school in the Highland capital underlines the futility of the Gaelic programme.
“It’s outrageous, especially at a time when ordinary schools are considering cutting back to a four- day week to save money. But it seems we’ll spend money on Gaelic willy- nilly.”
At the last census, a little more than 59,000 people in Scotland spoke Gaelic, a decline of almost 7,000 in a decade. ( © Daily Telegraph, London)
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Foilsithe ar 12 Deireadh Fómhair 2012
