| |
Children to be charged for primary school education
9 Jan 2004 by Victor Hatchett
Labour unveiled its latest groundbreaking scheme in parliament yesterday: a plan to charge children up to £1,000 per year in fees for attending school. The move comes after months of preparation by a government think tank set up to find ways of making life as hard as possible for everyone in the country.
According to one source, who refused to be named but doubtless will be, the think tank's central concern was to put children into debt as early as possible and keep them that way for the rest of their lives. This will, apparently, lessen resistance to university top-up fees when the time comes, as students will already be used to massive debt. The government is also considering plans to introduce a birth tax, which will again be paid for by an automatic loan upon the birth of a child.
The impact of this new scheme would be to put children in debt by up to £11,000 by the time they reach 16, with a further £2,000 added if they decide to carry on to do A-levels.
"What these future voters have to realise is that there is no free ride in this life. If they want the privilege of learning how to read and write, they are going to have to pay for it," said Education Secretary Charles Clarke in a television interview. "Education is something that costs the government billions every year, and the ungrateful brats just take it for granted. It's for their own good, really."
"The repayments are extremely reasonable," he added.
Critics of the scheme have rallied together and under-fives across the country are forming groups in nurseries and playgrounds to oppose the fees. Several ultrasounds have also revealed foetuses holding placards with Stop The Fees scrawled on them. Tony Blair, however, is adamant that he will not be swayed.
"Oh boo-hoo-hoo," he responded to one toddler on a visit to a nursery school. "What a little bunch of cry-babies you all are. If you want an education, you have to pay for it and the sooner that people start to realise there are hard choices to be made in life the better, so it's no good going crying to mummy about it."
Log in to read/write comments on this article
Wow, look at this!
|
|
