THE SNP have slammed Nigel Farage’s claims that the standard of Scottish education has “fallen dramatically”.
The former UKIP leader made the comments on GB News during a segment about the record number of drug deaths in Scotland.
Comparing Poland and Scotland, Farage claimed that something had gone “very wrong” with Scottish education.
But the SNP hit back and accused Farage of “truth twisting” and said that a record number of young people from deprived backgrounds have gone on to university.
READ MORE: RNLI donations soar after Nigel Farage 'taxi service for migrants' comment
Farage said: “Poland for example, which in terms of wealth is growing remarkably and doing well, but the education system in Poland is turning out not just people who are academic but with skills and trades, and look at Scotland.
“When I was a little kid people used to say that the Scottish education system is the best in the world, that was what people used to say 50 years ago and now you mentioned how bad it has become in terms of education in Scotland.
“The standard has fallen dramatically over those years and with that we’ve seen a huge decline in social mobility, in terms of people who are born into circumstances without much money, being able to lift themselves out, having aspiration and I think something has gone very very badly wrong in those parts of Scotland. I think it’s very sad.”
'People used to say that the Scottish education system is the best in the world.'
— GB News (@GBNEWS) August 1, 2021
Nigel Farage says the educational 'standard has fallen dramatically' in Scotland, 'and with that we've seen a huge decline in social mobility.'
Watch GB News on Sky 515. pic.twitter.com/yJvlRBdzRV
An SNP spokesperson said: "There's no one who does truth twisting like Nigel Farage.
“He clearly does not pay very much attention to Scotland, if he did he would know that education in Scotland receives more investment per head than in England and Wales and a record number of young people from deprived backgrounds have gone on to university."
In June, Nicola Sturgeon defended the Scottish education system in a fiery clash with Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross at FMQs.
READ MORE: Oliver Dowden stands by GB News support despite Farage's RNLI attack
It came after an OECD report made 12 recommendations to improve the system, which Education Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville said she had accepted.
However, Sturgeon was forced to defend the Curriculum for Excellence (CfE) which the report also described as a “bold and widely supported initiative”.
The report also said that CfE was an “inspiring example” and that Scotland is ranked “among higher than average country performance on international assessments”.
Farage's claims were rejected by the SNP, who said he was "truth twisting"
Last week, Farage was criticised for controversial comments where he said that the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) was being used as a “taxi service for illegal trafficking gangs”.
Donations to the charity soared after the GB News segment aired, with thousands of people backing the RNLI for its life saving work.
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