Twat of the day (2)

According to this evening's London Lite, "The Lib-Dem leader also announced plans to raise the amount spent on educating the poorest 15 per cent of pupils to the same level as that spent on children in private schools".

That's bollocks on so many levels ...

1) Average state spending per pupil is around £7,000 per annum*, which is as much as the tuition fees at the cheapest private schools in most parts of the country**. Or does he want to send them all to Winchester?

2) There is little (or possibly no) correlation between the amount spent and the quality of education. Nulab have proved that to death. What matters is selection***, streaming/setting, discipline**** ...

3) ... and competition between schools! In which education vouchers would help enormously.

4) Why the random figure of "the poorest 15 per cent"? Does he mean "families who live off benefits"? Even if it were true that by chucking another £3,000 at those pupils did make a big difference (which it wouldn't) and that the parents really cared (which they probably don't, in which case it's the parents dragging the kids down, not the school) then wouldn't that be a massive disincentive to get a job? And don't get me started on means-testing, that is disguised taxation.

5) Lib-Dems control plenty of councils around the country. If this is such a f***ing great idea, why don't they just do it ... and prove that it works (which it wouldn't).

6) And last but not least, Brian Eno is only about seven years younger than Ming the Merciless, so how the f*** is that going to help the Lib-Dems appeal to "young people"?

* Once you include teachers' pensions @ £10 billion-plus and £5 billion capital spending.

** As an aside, how come nobody minds that many State schools are single-sex? If that's not selective then I don't know what is.

*** The Fabian f***ers of course always refer to 'average spending' in the private sector. F*** that. What matters is how much the cheapest private schools cost, which by definition must be a heck of a lot better than most State schools, else parents wouldn't spend all that money, natch.

**** As an atheist, the fact that religious schools do so much better is irksome, but hey, both my kids go to private Catholic schools.