Stop playing politics (From Basingstoke Gazette)

Stop playing politics

10:05am Thursday 6th September 2012 in Letters

Sir.–How wonderful it was to see the faces of our young people receiving their GCSE results in The Gazette last week – faces beaming with joy and pride, deservedly so after so much hard work and effort over a sustained period of time.

Sadly, I am aware that many of the students (and their teachers) were dismayed to discover that their English results were not what had been expected. All that diligence and hard work was apparently cast aside because Education Secretary Michael Gove has his own agenda to turn our education system back to the way it was in the 19th century.

This Coalition Government is playing politics with our children’s futures and it is an utter disgrace.

The political debate about the future of education in our country is one thing, but for the Government to move the goalposts between January and the summer exams is nothing short of gerrymandering and shows their utter contempt for our young people. What does our MP Maria Miller have to say about this? She must take responsibility as a Government minister for every Basingstoke child and family hurt by this cynical political intervention.

Who in Government will take responsibility for the debacle? What are they going to do about the blatant injustice to all the young people who took their examinations this summer?

Not satisfied with selling off our school playing fields at a time, when the nation is hungrier than ever to participate in sport thanks to the wonderful legacy of the London Olympics, the Coalition Government is cynically manipulating the exam system used by our young people.

Politicians should stop using education as a political football once and for all.

–David Eyre, Labour Councillor for Brighton Hill South, Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council.