REMEMBER the election promises of the Tories about freedom of choice in education? Well, Rhodes Boyson, the charge of higher and education, decided that the freedom ot thousands of A-leve students to attend university should dentell The University Grants Committee has written to universities saying that they should cut undergraduate entries in 1980 by six per cent.
Boyson justified this decision by referring the education system as expensive in the world' "There is no right of 18-year-olds to read whatever subjects they want at whatever cost with a guarantee of a job at the end. That mad dream has come to an end. In a free society it's just not possible.' Qualified This 'mad dream', however. once subscribed to hy no less a tigure than Lord Robbins, who chaired the Royal Commission Education in the 1960s. Ensuring the availability of higher education to all those *suitably qualified' and Tory defended.
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Higher Robbins principle that both Labour politicians the day What will these cuts mean if the heads agree to the new Immediately, 5,000 fewer places will be available next year. The government is urging that the cuts be The tightest squeeze is going to be felt in the most law, business accountancy, English, Social science subjects will come under particularly heavy fire because considered. have less relevance to economic performance. In addition the new universities will have to cut more places than those training grounds for the ruling class, All school students will be forced to attain higher grades to gain a place Women will suffer especially because there has been a big of female applications to attend colleges over But above all the effect of these proposals will be to further exclude working class students from going to university. Public school students will be pushed by their specialist teachers in their smaler classrooms to attain the higher grades needed. Working class kids in the urban centres, schools that are being run down because of the savage cuts in public spending, will now find it even harder to get à place.
The proposals will also redundancies for academic non-academic staff.
The Tories have revealed the true meaning of their promises education field. Freedom for the rich NEXT WEEK *TUC debate its way? *Major movement *White Rhodesia — the final days?
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'Say what you like, these new schools don't stand up to classroom violence like the old Victorian ones.'