One such scrutiny is the rising prices of school fees in the private sector. School fees are rising much, much faster than inflation, and, with fewer grammar & selective schools in this country, many parents, who would have turned to cheaper private education for their children, are now being forced to enter comprehensive education, due to the crippling cost of having a child, or many children, in an independent or private school. In particular, this is a problem for the moderately affluent middle classes, who have disposable income, however who may struggle with the rising costs of school fees, especially in areas where good state schooling is a rarity, or there are very few school spaces. Indeed, in an interview on LBC with UKIP leader & MEP Nigel Farage, the politician, who attended Dulwich College, claimed that the school is now reserved for the monetary elite, whereas when he was a student it was open to middle-affluent, normal people. Therefore, the debate stands; should school fees be frozen? Should there be a limit on how high they can rise? If so, should the government be forced to offer even more incentives than they already do? Or should private/independent education be abolished entirely?
In my school, fees, which were already much, much higher than average, have risen considerably in the last few years. This does not bother me at all, however I can understand the issue many parents will have in smaller private schools in cities such as London which are not as famous, who are not as wealthy as the parents of children in Eton & Harrow, and who will struggle to cope with the rising cost of living. As a Conservative, I feel it is the duty of government to keep inflation down, however, certainly in this case, we must be careful. If we ever decided to regulate fees, huge incentives would have to be offered to independent/private schools to make up for the loss of income. Education reforms are a massive part of this government, and thus this subject should at least be considered, and a solution, if any proposed.
I should like to see how this debate will go on, so, without any more rambling, please begin!
