Education under Tony Blair

During his election campaign Tony Blair famously said that his three priorities were 'Education, Education, Education.' In this essay I shall examine the success of the Labour Government in tackling this issues, and whether they have met their targets. A cursory examination of the progress of education by perusing newspapers and magazines would suggest that Labour and Tony Blair have failed to deliver on schools and education. The majority of stories and articles regarding education suggest that, despite students achieving better exam results, funding and equipment for schools has dropped, teaching standards are lower, and there is a growing gulf between children those who do well at school and those who are under-achieving It would, however, be untrue to say that funding for schools has dropped in the past 10 years. In 1996 the education budget was £70m per annum, compared with a projected £10.2bn in 2011. (source: The Independent) The equivalent amount in today's terms would be slightly under £100m. This increase in funding is a massive leap and shows an increased financial commitment, if nothing else, to education within the UK. This investment also suggests an increase in the spending on equipment such as laboratory tools and books. However, many questions have been raised over how this money has been spent, and whether the extra funding has helped schools that need it the most. A considerable percentage of this funding has been and will be spent on establishing City Academies, a highly controversial Labour proposal. Many claim that, rather than spending money on establishing a new system of education, the money should be spent on raising standards in existing schools. Another criticism of Labour educational policy is an increasing interference from the Government in dictating the role of teachers. National Curriculum guidelines have been tightened, Ofsted inspections have become more frequent and more rigorous, and the implementations placed upon teachers regarding attaining goals in children is intense. This interference is regarded as unnecessary by many, who view the experts as the teachers themselves. And indeed such a level of interference almost certainly constrains teachers to boundaries and prevents them from giving their whole attention to teaching in a way that seems appropriate for them and for the students.
Nevertheless, the Government is aware of the need to maintain standards in schools across the board, and ensure that children are not disadvantaged as much as possible. By laying down guidelines for teachers to follow, the Government is just as likely to be helping by improving the quality of teaching and standards for children who would otherwise be left by the way-side, than disadvantaging those children that have the potential to be stretched. In an ideal world we would should be able to do both, to support the less-able and underprivileged as well as push the high-achievers. However, we can only do so much, and it is far better for the Government to create a level playing-field than maintain a system where some children are pushed and others not supported.
Also, the Government is acutely aware of the need to be seen to be taking action, both because it promised to do so in its manifesto, but also to present a break from the apathy of previous governments and parties. Therefore, a high level of Government involvement suggests that those with power are aware and are working to solve problems within the educational system.
In higher education the government also has a chequered track-record. The cost of university fees has dramatically increased, with over 50% of students paying in excess of £3,000 each year. The amount of available grants has, however, increased, with over 50,000 students receiving grants. Anyone who's family income is below £60,000 is entitled to a half-grant, amounting to up to £1,750. Families who's income is under £25,000 are entitled to a full grant for their university tuition fees, and also receive bursaries for maintenance costs. Therefore, to say that the Government has been successful with regards to university education would be untrue, but it would also be unjustified to claim that, because the cost of university study has gone up, students are worse off.
Overall, therefore, the Government has had a mixture failure and success in its educational policies. However, no-one would expect any Government to have unmitigated success in any area of policy, as one cannot simply please everyone. However, Tony Blair was unfortunate in that, as he promised such sweeping reforms in the education system, such as a move towards much less academic selection, he has not delivered. His focus on education has, predictably, led to many pundits focusing on Labour's educational policy, and consequently, its failures. Overall, therefore, Labour has had mixed success, but its choice to focus on education as a cornerstone of its policy has led to much criticism and derision.