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Education |
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We believe that education is the keystone that makes all other longer-term strategic policies possible: improving industry and employment; the arts; scientific discovery and research; improving the overall health and well-being of society; and reducing crime. It is the policy area that can justify significant investment in recognition of the dividend that all other areas of public spending will receive 10-15 years hence.
Subsequently we recognise that education is about more than simply equipping the future workforce with relevant vocational and professional skills, but about creating a future society that is healthy, wise, and wealthy in all respects.
We believe that learning is life long and should be encouraged in all elements of life, personal and professional.
Education should be freely available to all to first degree level or equivalent. Tuition fees for university students should be abolished, as university education is of general benefit to society, and should be covered by general taxation.
50% of the British public identify as having no religion, and this number is growing1 but over half of all state funded schools have a religious character2, including over 4,500 Church of England schools. It has been demonstrated that faith schools are religiously selective, excluding those of other or no faith3.
Therefore, we will mandate that all state-funded schools be secular in nature.
No state funded school will be permitted to admit students based on religiosity.
We will end compulsory worship in schools.
State-funded faith schools will also lose their exemption to equalities legislation, preventing them from practising religious discrimination in their employment policies.
Religious education (R.E.) will be replaced by Philosophy and Comparative Religion, and content in other subjects that is based on religious beliefs which are divisive (such as homosexuality) or not scientifically valid (such as creationism) will not be allowed.
Scottish authorities will no longer be legally obligated to appoint unelected religious representatives to school boards. Instead, elected councillors will be appointed by a vote of the full council.
All state secondary schools will have an elected students council, and student president. The student president, who will need to be at key stage 4, will represent students on the board of governors.
We will remove the guidelines4 that force teachers to act as counter-terrorism officers and that stifle free speech within the learning environment.