Education should not be a market place

'Spoon-fed' students lack skills needed for university

Tim Ross, Education Correspondent

11.08.08 Evening Standard [London]

© 2008 Associated Newspapers Limited

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23530821-details/%27Spoon-fed%27+students+lack+skills+needed+for+university/article.do

Background

In this report the Evening Standard (London) highlights the decline of quality education in favour of quantity passes at exams. The skills demonstrated by new students entering university are getting lower, but more students are achieving A grades for their A-level exams. English and Maths are of particular concern.

Comments

Governments and those responsible for education are very prone to falling victims of "the curse of the face vale". Basically, they pick up on a weak or irrelevant criterion such as exam passes to promote their policies and neglect to take into account other factors which have critical value in developing skills. Such serious mistakes are very easy to make because certain factors are much easier to promote and monitor. Next year's results are more useful to a politician than the skills that a young child will develop in fifteen years time. Politicians and dogma motivated professionals are not always the best people to take charge of the skills of students.

Education is not a market place, it is more important than that. Education ought to be the opportunity for everyone of us to develop our own character to the best of our abilities.

Bottom Line

Markets are there to exclude, education ought to be there to include every one.

Tags: education, English, A-levels, exam grades,exams

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