Education bill is opposed by parents and teachers, says NUT

25 May 2006

Commenting on the Education Secretary’s speech to the Fabian Society, Steve Sinnott, General Secretary of the National Union of Teachers, Europe’s biggest teachers’ organisation, said:

“I am confident that Alan Johnson knows that the key issue for all of us in education is raising the achievement of young people from the toughest backgrounds. I want to work with him on that agenda.

“But the Education Secretary is wrong to belittle the opponents of the Education Bill. Opposition to the proposals on trust schools and the destruction of the role of education authorities runs much deeper. Parents, the teaching profession and others involved in education do not see the value of the Government’s proposals.

“The reason the Government has had such a tough time piloting its bill through the Commons is because the proposals are profoundly divisive and damaging. There will be no guarantee that the opportunities of all pupils will be enhanced and no guarantee that our children will be educated in an objective manner, free of prejudices and bias.”