The battle in education

Last Saturday the Daily Mail gave a picture of the breakdown in discipline in our schools. It was a frightening picture, and may help to explain some of the decline in Education in this country.

The N.A.S.U.W.T. Union has drawn up a blacklist of 32 of the country's worst behaved pupils. These pupils, the youngest of whom was only 5, regularly threatened staff and other pupils with violence, and carried knives and other weapons with which to do hurt.

The General Secretary of the union had had words for school governors, whom she accused of not supporting head teachers as they insisted on reinstating the trouble-makers after just a few days suspension. Others have levelled similar criticisms at independent appeals panels.

In all 32 cases the staff had balloted members over whether they should refuse to teach the pupils concerned. Where they had agreed to boycott the pupils, the local authority usually transfered the students to another school or to a special unit.

Apart from the climate of fear and the disruption caused, the general order and academic progress of the majority of well-behaved pupils are constantly hindered. The Conservatives are surely right to say that when they achieve power they will not let the rights of the troublesome minority constantly triumph over the rights of the majority. Rather the trouble makers will be removed for specialised and intensive treatment to help them to overcome their problems and begin to make academic progress.