Education Spokesman: Don Foster
ANOTHER PLEDGE COULD BITE THE DUST: Class Sizes Rise As Teacher Numbers Fall. Don Foster MP, Liberal Democrat education and employment spokesman today commented on the new class size and teacher vacancy figures released by the DfEE. He warned: "Unless the Government takes urgent action, including more funding, another of Labour’s early pledges will bite the dust. The day after waiting lists rose to an all time high, class sizes have also risen. "Despite Labour’s promise to reduce class sizes, this is the 5th year running that primary class sizes have risen. And for the seventh year running secondary class sizes have failed to improve. "Labour may eventually get infant class sizes down, but they’ve clearly failed to do their sums; today’s announcement has confirmed that the money from the Assisted Places Scheme is insufficient and that the pledge itself is puny. "The Department’s figures already show that Key Stage 2 classes are higher than those for Key Stage 1. So by making no pledge to reduce junior class sizes, many pupils will continue to move from infant classes of less than 30 to overcrowded junior classes - losing any of the early benefits gained. "Despite the rhetoric, the Government is giving no more money to LEAs than it had already promised. Instead, LEAs will be forced to borrow money to build the necessary extra classrooms. "If the LEA budgets aren’t increased, schools will have no choice but to lay off more teachers causing class sizes to continue to rise. The £22 million allocated from the standards fund for the recruitment of teachers is, in reality, only enough if the 1500 teachers are all Newly Qualified Teachers outside of London. "All of this underfunding in the public services is coming about in spite of increasingly strong public finances, and a growing ‘War Chest’ being built up by the Chancellor." Commenting on research carried out by his office into the way which LEAs complete the teacher vacancy returns, Don Foster said: "It is clear that LEAs are using different interpretations of the guidance given to help them fill in the forms. If we are to have confidence in the figures as the basis for future action, the government must put in place a policy to ensure that the management information they collect is accurate, useful and credible."
2002 Targets Almost Met - Foster. Don Foster, Liberal Democrat education and employment spokesman has today obtained figures, given to Article 26 by the DfEE, which show the percentage of Key Stage 2 children achieving level 3 and above in English. The figures revealed that 90% reached level 3 or above in reading and 90% reached level 3 or above in writing. Commenting on the reading results Don said: "If 90% of 11 year olds are at level 3 or above, it’s very hard for the Government to justify the statement that there is ‘chronic underachievement’. Either the Key Stage 2 Tests are inaccurate, or the government is exaggerating the scale of the problem. "The question arises whether there is sufficient justification for the relaxation of the national curriculum in the rushed way that the government’s done it. One almost worries that it’s trying to create the impression of things being extremely bad so they can demonstrate how well their policies have worked." Don Foster called for a re-assessment of the national testing structure. "We know that there are genuine problems in literacy and numeracy and that they do need to be addressed. However we need to make sure that we know where these problems are located. "According to these figures, the chances of David Blunkett failing to reach his targets in 2002 are slim. "Maybe he should be setting himself more challenging targets."
(CONSERVATIVE + LABOUR) x STUDENT FEES = CHAOS FOR STUDENTS . Don Foster MP, Liberal Democrat Education and Employment spokesman will lead the Education team in the Opposition debate on the "Government’s Proposals for Student Finance". In his speech Mr Foster will say: "Since 1990 funding per student for teaching has dropped by 26%; four fifths of universities have obsolete or inadequate teaching equipment; 1 in 8 students drop out of university mainly because of the problems of "poverty". It is no wonder that Sir Ron Dearing and the CVCP say that universities need an extra £350 million next year and £565 million the year after just to stand still. "The imposition of means tested tuition fees is not only wrong - since it further erodes the principle of free education - but it also fails to widen access, fails to provide additional funds and fails to avoid further problems and inequalities. "The Government has already been forced to make so many U-turns, and changes of direction that it is beginning to resemble spaghetti junction without the signposts. "The most shocking fact is that leading universities are already drawing up plans to charge differential fees to supplement the proposed £1,000 tuition fee. "However for the Conservative Opposition to criticise the Government on this issue is bizarre. After all it was they who underfunded the education services and who created the mess it is now in. “The Government has done nothing but create confusion on this issue. For example, Scottish students spend one year less in school and one year more in university. A Scottish degree is therefore 4 years long. The Government has decided that it is unfair for Scottish students to pay for an extra year’s tuition fees, so their final year will be free. However, the same does not apply for English, Welsh or Irish students who study in Scotland. They will be liable for the full four years fees. But students from other EU countries won’t! "Means testing of fees - which must apply to other EU countries - will require means testing the doctor in Dortmund and the fishmonger in Frankfurt. "Following various U-turns potential teachers will get their 4th year at university free, while potential doctors and dentists must wait a further year for free tuition. Which protest will be next in the queue ? "When will the Government learn that if you’re going to hit the ground running, you must plan the route first ?"
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