UKIP Manifesto 2010 Education and Training
UKIP believes it is the responsibility of the State to ensure a quality education is provided for all – regardless of income, age, aptitudes or ability. UKIP recognises that state education simply isn’t working, with falling standards, watered down exams, undermining of merit, shortages of skills and devaluation of graduate qualifications. UKIP will:
· Increase parental choice in school education and make schools more answerable to parents by offering all parents ‘School Vouchers’. The vouchers will be equivalent to the average cost of State schooling and follow the child to the school of the family’s choice, transferable to State, private or faith schools
· Insist schools teach the ‘three Rs’ effectively and introduce simple reading tests at age 7. The three Rs provide young children with the proper foundation for their whole school and work careers
· Retain all existing grammar schools and encourage the creation of new grammar schools and specialist schools, which will be called ‘professional schools’. UKIP will not return to a pass/fail 11-plus test but introduce a ‘Comprehensive Test’ to assess merit across a wide range of academic and non-academic abilities including vocational skills, crafts and sport. There will be no return to the stigma of failing 11-plus
· Replace current teacher training with more on-the-job training, and insist on higher qualifications for aspiring teachers
· Scrap the nonsensical target of making 50% of school leavers go to university, and allow universities to choose their students based on academic ability and merit alone. We will abolish social engineering and the Office of Fair Access. UKIP will change a number of universities back into skills and vocational colleges
· Return to a student grant system, as opposed to student loans which leave many graduates in heavy debt. We will offer all students ‘Student Vouchers’ for a proportion of their costs equivalent to ‘Basic Cash Benefit’ (see ‘Welfare and Social Security’, below) and allow them to top up the vouchers by working or taking out commercial student loans
· Introduce directly elected County Education Boards made up of educational professionals and councillors. These will replace Local Education Authorities and ensure an adequate number of schools are provided
· Introduce franchising of schools, colleges and educational institutions across Britain so that charitable associations, parental co-operatives, not- for-profit and profit-making private companies, partnerships or individuals bid to run institutions on a budget set by the elected County Education Boards. This will inject the ethos of successful private and State schools, raising standards while improving efficiency and innovation. Meanwhile fixed assets, accountability and decision making will remain firmly in public hands
· Replace the current school funding policy – which favours specialist schools – with a policy where funds are shared equally regardless of the degree of specialisation
· Allow schools to select pupils based on their suitability for the education provided – putting vocational skills, craft skills and sporting ability on a par with academic ability
· Allow teachers to do their jobs with minimal government interference. Ofsted will be abolished and its powers transferred to school governing bodies and a new independent Educational Inspectorate made up of experienced teachers. The National Curriculum will become less prescriptive and schools will have a greater say over subjects taught, although key subjects will be retained. We will allow parents to trigger a government inspection of a school if 10% of the parents at that school initiate this in a referendum
· Pass legislation that establishes beyond doubt the right for schools and teachers to impose proper discipline on pupils without fear of scurrilous legal actions destroying their careers
· Re-examine the policy of ‘inclusion’ and support special schools for children with learning disabilities
· Look favourably on home education, and oppose current plans to regulate it
“State education simply isn’t working. Standards are falling”
· Lengthen and enhance Entry to Employment programmes for those not in education, employment or training, to overcome anti-work attitudes
Download the full Education & Training policy from the Policies section of www.ukip.org
UKIP Manifesto 2010
UKIP Manifesto 2010 : Introduction
UKIP Manifesto 2010 : The Economy: Tax, Budget and Regulation
UKIP Manifesto 2010 : The Economy: Jobs, Enterprise and Skills
UKIP Manifesto 2010 : Immigration and Asylum
UKIP Manifesto 2010 : Law and Order, Crime
UKIP Manifesto 2010 : Healthcare and the NHS
UKIP Manifesto 2010 : Education and Training
UKIP Manifesto 2010 : Pensions
UKIP Manifesto 2010 : Welfare and Social Security
UKIP Manifesto 2010 : Foreign Affairs and International Trade
UKIP Manifesto 2010 : Energy and the Environment
UKIP Manifesto 2010 : Transport
UKIP Manifesto 2010 : Housing and Planning
UKIP Manifesto 2010 : The Constitution and How We Are Governed
UKIP Manifesto 2010 : Culture and Restoring Britishness
UKIP Manifesto 2010 : Food, Farming and the Countryside
UKIP Manifesto 2010 : Other Specific UKIP Policies
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