Prompting debate on education system

TESCO chief executive Sir Terry Leahy has set a hare running by voicing publicly concerns about the current state of the education system, something many leading business figures have acknowledged privately for many years.

For some reason not immediately apparent, there is a reluctance to criticise the quality of education in our schools because it is seen, by extension, as criticism of the young people the system produces. Nothing could be further from the truth, for it is partly worry about future generations that has prompted Sir Terry and some of Scotland’s leading business people to speak out now.

Each summer, without fail, figures are produced which show that secondary-school pupils have achieved record pass levels. This trend has been constant for more than 20 years. Yet, in that time, employers, particularly those who require potential recruits to be literate and numerate, have seen a steady decline in both basic skills.

This is in no way the fault of the children; it is the fault of a system which, long ago, decided that English grammar and punctuation was unimportant and that pupils could use calculators in class for even the most basic arithmetical problems. The country is now reaping the rewards of that foolishness through a generation of young people whose eyes glaze over at the mere mention of apostrophes, reported speech, Pythagoras and logarithms, all of which used to be key components of the basic school curriculum. Many cannot construct a sentence, a considerable number cannot even read or write, and if these skills are considered necessary for their chosen career, it is left to employers to teach them.

Sir Terry has done Britain’s future generations a favour by beginning a debate on a subject which was considered almost taboo. Britain’s future prosperity depends on politicians and educationalists sitting up and listening.