Equality in schools - The literacy scandal

The Department of Education launched its programme Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools in 2005 to tackle disadvantage in education.

It contends it would take five years for the real impact of the programme to be apparent.

It is an outrage that 30% of children in disadvantaged schools leave without adequate levels of literacy. Those people are essentially being denied the fundamental right of an education. People with literacy problems inevitably become a burden on the state. Not putting the proper resources into their education is not only unfair but also economic lunacy.