MARIAN Pallister's feature, Trade winds blow fair (February 5), deals with one aspect of one of the myriad of problems confronting Third World countries, namely unfair trading conditions which hopefully will be relatively a short-term problem.

In the medium to long term, education is essential as it is the universal right of all people, and their development, as distinct from their exploitation, is dependent on their level of education.

Scotland has built up a reputation for dedicated teachers and a high-quality, broadly-based curriculum. The present ''teaching bashing'' and the parsimonious attitude towards resources do little for teacher morale on which the quality of teaching depends. In Africa, Scottish education's reputation still benefits from the work and sacrifices of the missionaries such as Mary Slesser of Calabar and Dr David Livingstone.

In some Third World countries the position of women is that they, because they are women, are deprived of any form of what we would term modern education. There is a massive need for educational expertise in these countries if they are to reap the benefits of the advances in technology.

Encouraging the young people to ''think'' as distinct from ''copying'' or ''imitating'' others is perhaps the best strategy if their countries are to become truly independent within the foreseeable future.

The advent of the Scottish Parliament will open up many new and exciting opportunities for Scotland and in particular Scottish education. There is an international market for educational expertise and Scotland must compete for a share of this market.

Scottish education must establish itself on the international scene as a high-quality service which can, in partnership with teachers from Third World countries, build a ''ladder of opportunity'' to help the indigenous people to climb out of the cesspit of poverty and disease while in Scotland providing high-quality jobs and long-term prospects for many of our graduates whose careers at present would appear to depend on serving in pubs and bars.

It will be the duty of the Scottish Parliament, irrespective of its political composition, to promote Scottish education, thereby assisting the many universities and colleges which by dint of their own efforts have undertaken much of the pioneering work.

Thomas L Inglis,

7 Menzies Avenue, Fintry.

February 5.