Limited primary school places open new market for solicitors

As the current economic
climate worsens the government and county councils are targeting education as a
means of saving money. Privatisation, redundancies and funding cuts are
tarnishing the education system that so many other countries strive for. Tower
Hamlet’s College, London Metropolitan University
and Manchester University are only a few of many to
have already been crippled by these drastic changes. Now, with tuition fees on
the increase – the yearly cap of £3,200 soon to be lifted – competition to get
into what remains of higher education is becoming progressively biased towards
only the more privileged members of society.

Lewisham Bridge Parents

and Teachers fight against closur

Universities and
colleges aren’t the only victims in the offence against education. Primary
schools like those in Lewisham and across Glasgow
are facing threats beyond funding cuts. The closure of primary schools causes
further concern; children are forced to commute greater distances to get to the
next nearest school, and the schools that remain are also faced with the overcrowding
of classrooms. (This is ironic, considering that this type of overcrowding is
the very same thing that the government worked to improve only a few years ago
in a vain and futile attempt to improve teaching and learning standards. In
2000, there was an attempt to limit pupils per primary school classroom to 25,
in 2007 that became 29, and now, in Edinburgh,
there is a proposal to bring in a new legislation taking the maximum class size
back to 30!)

So, struggling
against reductions in funding, closure, or privatisation from invasive
businesses, primary schools are steadily becoming unable to accommodate the increasing
number of local children deserving of an education. Parents are being recommended
to send their children to schools which are either unsuitable as a location,
often around two miles away, or are inappropriate considering the needs of
certain children. As a result, parents are beginning to seek legal advice to
get their children into their desired schools.

During August 2009, according
to the BBC, reports from legal firms suggested that around 250 families were
paying up to £2,000 for said admissions appeal advice. Presumably, not all of
this costly advice would’ve even been useful; vague representation from a law
firm can’t necessarily determine a child’s admission into school. And judging
by the expense of a mere consultation, this ‘advice’ isn’t at all in the
interests of the paying families anyway. Even an initial meeting with a private
firm can cost as much as £80, a brief consultation that would achieve nothing
other than provide a nice comfortable lining in a solicitor’s pocket.

Furthermore, some
consultants were demanding a bare minimum of £400 simply for representation of
their appeal.

Some parents who
appeal to tribunals without legal representation are still managing to get
their children into their desired schools, but it’s only a matter of time
before this new profitable market in the legal system swings, once again, to
the benefit of only the classes who can afford it. To put it simply, the
tribunals are more likely to accept a family with money and representation,
than one less fortunate.

Additionally,
wealthier parents are able to pay for private tuition for their children; only
the fortunate can afford this and, in doing so, immediately put their children
at an advantage, increasing their chances of getting better results and getting
them into their school of choice.

Yet again, this
entire concept just demonstrates the bias against working class families in favour
of those more privileged, as well as providing further evidence of businesses
profiting from the injustices inflicted upon the masses.

Education is,
undoubtedly, returning to the state it was in over a century ago – slowly being
played back into the hands of only those who can afford it, returning to being
a commodity rather than a human right. And with the Labour government suffering
great losses due to fewer votes, it won’t be long before situations worsen
under Conservative, Tory rule. We are left only to anticipate more excessive
funding cuts, more privatisation, more unnecessary redundancies, and harder
times for the working class majority.