(My Original Blog Post: http://ping.fm/XaGEL)
Many kinds of people take advantage of degree programs online. Online university and college programs are very popular with working adults who want to advance their careers though cannot take enough time off to attend school. Such students may study on weekends and in the evenings, fitting in university and college coursework whenever it's most comfortable for them. The flexibility provide many people with career options that they have never had before
In their campaign for election, the Tories have recently turned their attention to the state of education in the UK. Just last week they announced that if elected, their plans included an immediate change in the structure and funding of grammar schools throughout the country. This is in direct conflict with the changes made to education by the Labour Party.
The Tory Stance on Education
According to their most recent statements, the Tory party would like to see grammar style schools that are run on 'traditional academic values and proper discipline' come back into educational fashion. To support this, the group proposes several related actions. To begin with, they would like to green light funding for approximately two hundred schools. These would be set up by parents and teacher groups who have long wished to create more non-selective grammar schools. According to spokesman Michael Grove, "An overwhelming majority are simply unhappy with the quality and provision of local education. They think the standards aren't high enough. They want something more traditional and rigorous. Most of them tend to want what has been called a non-selective grammar school, a comprehensive grammar. That's the preferred model the ones we have talked to have in mind."
The New Curricula
Within these new schools, the conservatives intend to allow a complete freedom of curriculum development. This means that the schools would be able to offer more rigorous exams than the currently available International GCSEs and the International Baccalaureate. They would also be free to treat students as individuals based on their talent and ability rather than being forced to hold them back in the name of equal treatment. Finally, the schools would be allowed to institute uniform policies. The schools are set to receive their green light as early as September.
Funding New Schools
Ideally, the funding for these schools would come from taxpayer funds that are moved directly from the hands of the taxpayers to those of the local groups in charge of the schools. This would allow everyone to save time and money by avoiding needless red tape. In order to make this possible, the conservative government would arrange to recreate the Department of Education, which would have a sole focus of administering education, rather than leave the matter in the hands of the current, more socially oriented Department of Children, Schools, and Families. Detractors warn that extant middle class schools will see their funding slashed in order to provide for these new programs.
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