Wednesday, January 14, 2009
A lack of integrity?
Interesting letter in this morning's Western Mail from John Ball, the former Plaid Cymru candidate for Swansea East that is worth quoting in full:
SIR – The decision by the Assembly to stop payment of an automatic grant to Welsh university students and replace it with a means-based scheme is a serious retrograde step.
This decision raises three fundamental questions about how the Assembly works, how it views education and its role in it.
The first of these is the integrity of a supposedly left leaning coalition – I remember many Plaid Cymru conferences when speaker after speaker became apoplectic at the very words “means test”; now clearly an adopted party policy.
The second is the Assembly’s view of the future. It is no great secret that the Welsh economy is, at the very least, not performing well and that Wales lags behind in education at all levels. These are two sides of the same coin; a well educated workforce is the very cornerstone of economic growth and well-being.
The third is perhaps the most important of all. The UN’s educational philosophy is based on chilling words and upon which the assembly might reflect – If you think education is expensive, try ignorance.
Dr JOHN BALL
Lecturer in Economics, School of Business and Economics, Swansea University
A clear sign of the unhappiness at Plaid Cymru's sell-out on tuition fees amongst their core supporters.
SIR – The decision by the Assembly to stop payment of an automatic grant to Welsh university students and replace it with a means-based scheme is a serious retrograde step.
This decision raises three fundamental questions about how the Assembly works, how it views education and its role in it.
The first of these is the integrity of a supposedly left leaning coalition – I remember many Plaid Cymru conferences when speaker after speaker became apoplectic at the very words “means test”; now clearly an adopted party policy.
The second is the Assembly’s view of the future. It is no great secret that the Welsh economy is, at the very least, not performing well and that Wales lags behind in education at all levels. These are two sides of the same coin; a well educated workforce is the very cornerstone of economic growth and well-being.
The third is perhaps the most important of all. The UN’s educational philosophy is based on chilling words and upon which the assembly might reflect – If you think education is expensive, try ignorance.
Dr JOHN BALL
Lecturer in Economics, School of Business and Economics, Swansea University
A clear sign of the unhappiness at Plaid Cymru's sell-out on tuition fees amongst their core supporters.
Comments:
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absolutely. Plaid sold their principles cheaply for a whiff of power.
If John cares about the issue he should join the Lib Dems.
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If John cares about the issue he should join the Lib Dems.
# posted by 
: 7:32 PM
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