Jonathan Bishop

I read in the Western Mail that the Tory Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Newport East said, ‘It’s Labour’s fault for dropping exam standards so every Tom, Dick & Harry goes to Uni’
I know the candidate, Dawn Parry, as she used to attend the same speakers club as me in Cardiff before transferring to the Newport one.
I think she’s wrong for saying that not everyone should be able to go to university, but the sentiment that you should be of calibre to go to university is something that should be aimed for. All too often people leave school unable to write essays, or to have critical and creative thinking abilities. These are the skills that I think are needed for people to have independence of mind and the drive to take on any challenge and see it though. I think with the Welsh Assembly Government’s skills-based curriculum things are moving in the right direction, where it is not what people learn that is important, but how they learn and express it.
It disturbs me that there are generations of people who do not have a decent education or working life; people who know no way of life beyond being on welfare benefits. At present the government stops those in fulltime education claiming benefits, but I think it should be compulsory for anyone claiming money from the State, whether benefits or tax credits to be engaged in further study or work experience. People doing voluntary work could claim Tax Credits instead of other benefits, and those who want to stay on income support or employment and support allowance should have to be taking part in training or a further/higher education course.