These days we are a family split between home education and school and, having been caught in the cross fire of politic opinions regarding home education once, I now like to keep a much closer eye on what politicians are up to. Watching the turmoil visited on my children doing GCSEs and A Levels in school over the last 3 years has been an eye opener and, like many parents and teachers, I constantly wonder what will be the next change of policy that has to be navigated. Current government seem very determined on their path but could a radically different education system shape up if Labour got in next time? And what would be the impact?
Tim Aldiss writes on behalf of Enjoy Education – London private tuition consultants.
Jeremy Corbyn is now the head of the Labour Party and as we all know, his policy concepts are characteristically left wing. Whilst the Labour Party has occupied the close to centre left position for over a decade now, Jeremy Corbyn is making a stir by suggesting policies that hark back to much more traditional Labour values. Whether this is good or bad is up to the individual but it is certainly a direction that has got people talking.
High on the list of Corbyn’s policy priorities is the nationalisation of education. Now you might imagine that this is a moot point as education is almost universally free for any child up to the age of 16 and predominantly for anyone up to the age of 19. What Corbyn is suggesting though is a unified education body that offers free services right up to and including further education that’s accessible and free to all. This would make it much more in line with the NHS which as an organisation offers free health care to any UK citizen on point of access.
It is a lofty ideal and perhaps one that should be lauded but it doesn’t come without it’s own obvious set of problems. As with all major policy changes, budget is one of the key factors and with funding for further education being cut year on year to make money available for other budgetary concerns, where exactly will the money for free education come from? Corbyn’s proposal is to introduce a two percent increase in corporation tax that he suggests will work in conjunction with the introduction of the nationalised education system. Corbyn suggests that with free education would come a more skilled work force which would in turn pay for itself via the extra two percent corporation tax. There is a logic there but skeptics might question where the initial funding would come from as current applications for further and higher education are at an all time high.
Again it is up to the electorate to decide whether a nationalised education service is feasible or even beneficial. Most people would agree that the National Health Service is a good thing and as a banner to wave for the UK, it’s certainly one to be proud of. Are the stopping blocks in the way of a National Education Service to big to overcome though? Is the money available to fund it initially and will it pay for itself in the long run? Free education for all is an admirable goal of course but we will have to wait and see how these policies develop now that Corbyn is head of the Labour Party.
This is a collaborative post.
