Home / Chapter 2 Education / Labour
Under their last government the
Under their last government the Conservatives spent more on
unemployment and debt interest than on education.Their priority
now is to take at least £1 billion from state schools to subsidise
private education for the privileged few. In addition they
would allow a free-for-all in school admissions – including an
extension of selection – for five- and 11-year-olds, cap the number
of pupils who can succeed at GCSE and A-level, and reduce
places in higher education.The choice for 2010 is forward with
new Labour: pupils with quality and opportunity through the
system from three to 18; parents with the confidence that where
there is no improvement there will be intervention; teachers
knowing that quality will be supported and rewarded; and
employers with a system that gets the basics right and provides
the skills that industry needs. Or back with the Tories to an education
system designed to look after the few but fail the many.