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Britain to reform education system

27 January 2011 21:55 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. The UK government will introduce a new Education Bill in which the improvement of the standards and the performance of the England’s schools system has been reiterated, APA reports quoting Press TV.

The ministers will publish their Education plans to renovate the current standards of the educational institutions in their so-called Education Bill.

The plan is expected to reform some education quangos, for example the General Teaching Council for England (GTCE) and the Qualifications and Curriculum Development Agency (QCDA). It is due to improve testing system, teachers’ training, and school funding.

The key element in the government’s new bill is to provide the schoolteachers with a power to "restore order to the classroom.â€

Education Secretary Michael Gove said the coalition government, as part of the reform plan, would protect the teachers against students’ false accusations by permitting them to stay anonymous until being accused.

As far as the new measures are concerned, the government will give the teachers the authority to search the students for anything that can disturb the classroom, such as pornography and video cameras. The bill will also facilitate the disruptive students’ expulsion from the schools.

"This government backs teachers. All the evidence from those countries with great education systems tells us that nothing is more important than attracting great people into teaching, and supporting them in the classroom,â€ said the Education Secretary.

"Under the last government, thousands of great people left the teaching profession because behavior was out of control and they were forced to spend far too much time on paperwork. That’s why we’re taking action to restore discipline and reduce bureaucracy. Teachers will be free to impose the penalties they need to keep order. And free from the red tape which swallows up teaching time. So they can get on with their first duty - raising standards," he added.

The Education Unions admired the government’s new plan regarding the teachers’ protection from false allegations but they also stressed their concerns about the teachers’ search rights.

â€œTeachers are worried that encouraging them to search pupils and confiscate items such as mobiles, weapons, drugs and cigarettes will damage their relationship with their pupilsâ€, said Mary Bousted, representative of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers.