'Education' under New Labour.
New Labour pledged 'Education, Education, Education'

After 8 years of New Labour, 1 in every 3 pupils now leaves primary school unable to read or write well enough to continue learning at their secondary school.

• B grade pass at GCSE Maths in 2004 were given for marks of just 17% after pass mark levels were again reduced. Labour claimed record levels of 53% pass rate at GCSE had been achieved. (An 'A' Grade maths required just 45%)
  
• Dumbed Down: A study by Coventry University revealed, in 2004, that GCSE's had been so dumbed down under Labour since 1997 that an A* at maths GCSE was only just equal to a grade E at 'O' level GCE (a grade E at 'O' level was the lowest pass level at 45%, and a grade A needing 90%)
• A=O ? "Some questions in today's A-levels are suspiciously similar, if not identical, to questions in O-level papers from 20 or 30 years ago" - speech by Tim Collins, Shadow Education Secretary, January 2005.
• In August 2005 when New Labour hailed its achievements with a 96% pass rate at 'A' Level - the CBI commented that the scandal was the sheer number of school leavers now leaving school unable to read or write properly
• Tuition Fees brought in by New Labour for England and Wales, but excluded from Scotland mean that the average student leaving University carries debts of £12,000. These Tuition fees were carried through parliament using the votes of Scottish Labour MPs whose own education policies are decided by the Scottish Parliament and although they can now force laws upon England they have no say in Scotland on education !!
• The huge debt which New Labour have saddled University graduates with has led to a corresponding decline in first time house buyers. It is worsening the pensions crisis by leaving graduates too impoverished to consider a pension plan until their student debts have been repaid, often many years after leaving university.
• If you are talking to people about New Labour's education failures - how about bringing up some of the following to answer points made to you:
• A claim that Labour have delivered Better education, GCSE's show better grades and more going to university -
  • Schools - " It does look like that doesn't it, but even the government's own bodies have confirmed that rather than exam marks improving the pass marks are lowered each year to make it appear that our children are doing better. - That can't be the type of education any of us want, can it?
  • A recent international study showed that Britain had slipped significantly down the international league table in education since 1997 when Labour came to power.
  • Its got so bad now that when one leading University recently did a study of pass marks and grades it found that GCSE maths pass marks had been lowered so much under Labour that a child achieving A* Maths GCSE would just have scraped through at 'O' level GCE Maths 20 years ago with a low 'E' grade and just above a fail ! That can't be right for any government to let education standards fall so badly - and then tell us the opposite to hide it.
  • They 'promised' us all they would improve education but they've failed and rather than admit they are useless at it they reduce the pass levels to con us all into believing they have done what they promised.
  • They've wasted billions of our money and ended up with our children worse educated than before - Don't we all want to see our children actually learning at school - not 1 in 3 leaving primary school who can't read and write properly ?
  • University - Don't be fooled by more going to university; One main reason New Labour want more people going to university is that it reduces the unemployment levels -
  • and by making the youngsters take huge loans to pay their university tuition fees that borrowed money pays for new jobs in universities.
  • But the majority of the new courses don't help them ever get a job - I mean what are you going to if you leave University with a degree having spent 3 years studying East Enders and Coronation Street as your Media Studies degree, or with a degree in Surfing.
  • It smells rather like just another New Labour con trick - don't let the facts spoil the spin !
  • Worse still, recent studies have shown that because young people now leave university saddled with these debts of up to £20,000 or more, which will take 10-15 years to repay - they can't even afford to get on the housing ladder.
  • It never used to be like that, education was about children learning. The trouble is Labour keep bringing in policies without ever understanding the consequences and the damage they will do. It just seems to them like a good idea at the time and when it doesn't work they just plain lie about it! I'm sorry, but I feel so strongly about it all, I believed in them in 1997 but since then ………
• Just thoughts for you and you can probably express them better in your own words, but the sentiment and facts may be appropriate for you and they are accurate !