According to Chiiiildren's Secretary ED Balls, there will be tough choices on whether to protect school funding and this will be at the heart of the General Election.
I've always thought that there is more wrong with our education system then just funding. It is too uniform and doesn't allow for individualism and it aims to take the child from the parent and educate it for the state.
UKIP's view, and I agree, is that NuLabour has forgotten that it has been in power for 13 years.
“They can’t bang-on about the need for reform in the education sector without expecting people to wonder what on Earth they’ve been doing in the last 13 years that’s left it in such a state," said a Party spokesman.
“The tories have remained very vague about what they’d do, (no surprise there, they've given hardly any detail on any of their policies) and the Liberals have said their priority would be to target resources at the under-achievers.
“UKIP would not ignore any group of school students, whether they were low, middle or high achievers.
“We would encourage the return of Grammar schools (without the 11 plus) and develop schools where the less academic students could be taught more vocational subjects, reach their full potential, and have vastly increased employability.”
Yes, some students, no matter how the system tries to shape them, will always be like square pegs being thrust into round holes. We need an education system that really does give parents power, choice and accountability. It seems to be the only people accountable for all that is wrong in today's system is the parents themselves. An easy target to blame for all of society's ills when parents do know what's best for their children, despite what the NuLabour state thinks.
The Tories really are no better. They have a lack of vision and are not clear on any policy. Take their claims that they could fund a cancer drug from NI contributions, for example. A think tank doesn't agree and neither does UKIP
“This is an exceptionally cynical piece of tory spin," a spokesman said.
“The NHS budget won’t be increased to fund the rise in NI, so the one percent increase will have to be met by the existing budget arrangements.
“The tories seem to forget that the money for the rise is currently being spent in other areas of the NHS, and is therefore not available to be spent elsewhere.
“The Labour NI rise is going to damage job prospects in the UK, but that does not give licence to the tories to mislead the public in this underhand way.
“The solution to the issue of NI is glaringly obvious, abolish it.
“UKIP would abolish this ‘tax on jobs’ and introduce a flat rate tax on earnings above the minimum wage. It’s cheaper, it’s easier, it’s fairer."
For more on UKIP's policies see HERE