Liberal Democrats say "Quality for all, not choice for the few"
September 21, 2004 1:00 PM
In the debate on education the Liberal Democrats have attacked the Governments 'choice' agenda, this comes just a week after former Secretary of State for Education Estelle Morris also attacked the Government over 'choice'. The Liberal Democrats believe ever child should be guaranteed quality education in or near the community in which they live.
Conference agreed that there should be an increase in early years support, school pupils should would be given a Pupil's Guarantee, students aged 14-19 be given a guided choice about how and what to learn to best suit them (ie more academic or vocational course delivered in school, FE College or as a young apprentice), tuition fees be scrapped and maintenance grants be re-introduced for the poorest students. Conference also called for more funding for education particularly, particularly for adults will less than 5 GCSEs at grade A-C.
The Pupils Guarantee, mentioned above, would:
Ensure that all teachers are qualified in the subject or age group they are teaching
The bureaucratic and prescriptive National Curriculum be replaced with a Minimum Curriculum Entitlement which ensures all children get the same basic education but puts more powers in the hands of the teachers and the schools locally
Ensure the the average primary class size is less than 25
Scrap the national tests at seven
Ensure all schools are fit for twenty-first century, with state-of-the-art facilities through building and renovating schools.
What would you like to do next?
-
Subscribe for updates
Follow the party's activity on...
- Twitter:
- Liberal Democrats
- Facebook:
- Liberal Democrats
- YouTube:
- Liberal Democrats