The Labour Party stated last week that they would abolish private schools when they come to power. They also intimated that they will slap VAT on private school fees until then. They say that the amount thus raised will pay for free school meals to all primary school children.
However, this will add another 25% or so on the already sky high private school fees. This Robin Hood style policy of robbing the so called rich to give to the poor will cause distress to people who sacrifice little luxuries and comforts of life to provide better education for their children.
Many of us Asians, particularly Gujaratis, do not have much faith in the state education system and hence we scrape and save and send our children to private schools, where standards are higher and the pass rates surpass that of state schools, even though we have to pay exhorbitant amount of fees.
We Asians know that it is only good education through which our children can advance in their life. We know that to get better propects in the employment market and to get a better standard of living, our children need to be better qualified than the rest.
The impostion of VAT on private school fees will mean that many parents will have to give up the ghost and transfer their children to state schools. This is one reason why I will not vote for Labour in the impending next General election.
Dinesh Sheth
Newbury Park, Ilford
