An investigation was launched after thousands of pound’s worth of children’s educational books were found discarded in a skip in Oban, Scotland.
Alison Craig, the chair of the Oban Gaelic parent group Comann nam Pàrant an Òbain, was alerted to the discarded books by a dog walker who spotted them outside the now closed Argyll and Bute Education offices on Dalintart street.
Alison and several other parents were able to save a number of the books, some of which were still in their packaging.
One parent said that she was “utterly disgusted”.
Alison had commented that her 8-year-old had noticed that the books that had been dumped were the same as the ones that are used in class. She accused Argyll and Bute Council of being in breach of the National Gaelic Language Plan.
The National Gaelic Language Plan 2018-23 is implemented by the Scottish Government as a commitment to support Gaelic as an official language of Scotland.
It plans to “build on existing measures to support the rights of Gaelic and other minority languages” and lays out the principle of the Act as:
- Gaelic belongs to the whole of Scotland
- Promotes a positive image of Gaelic
- Increasing the learning of Gaelic
- Increasing the use of Gaelic
There are several routes to learn Gaelic in Oban.
Rockfield Primary School provides Gaelic education from ages three and up, and Oban High School has a Gaelic department that delivers a fluent speaker and a learner’s pathway. Parents also have the right to request Gaelic education for their children.
A spokesperson for Argyll and Bute Council commented in response that they were “aware of an issue relating to the disposal of materials in Oban and we are conducting a full investigation.”
Thanks to the quick response from local parents, the books that were saved have now been distributed across the country so that children in Scotland have better access to learn Gaelic.
Words by Chloe Gardener
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