For all the talk recently of apprenticeships, NVQs, skills academies, vocational training and so on, what's all this about potential government plans to rank schools by the number of pupils they send to university?
Proposals being put to the prime minister in July by the National Council for Educational Excellence (NCEE), a body set up by Gordon Brown, will suggest that university entry data could be used to grade schools according to how many students reach higher education.
While it may sound like a reasonable request, doesnt it place the emphasis of career paths way too much on choosing the university route, and doing a degree?
I remember when I was at school doing my A-levels, university was pretty much the only option available to me when I turned 18, well, apart from getting a job that is. (Hence why I spent three years in sunny Brighton at the University of Sussex).
But the point is that I had no idea of the various career choices available to me - and perhaps looking back a more vocational route through apprenticeships or 'training at work' programmes may have been more suitable. After all a career in journalism is practical and requires experience - not necessarily just studying and theory.
Going down the NCEE route could cause teachers to promote university too much over other career choices, and could cause teenagers to think they want to do a degree when they don't. In the 21st century isnt it time we let 16 to 18-year-olds have a bit more control and freedom in what they choose to do?
And as employers, wouldnt we prefer to take younger workers on knowing they've received the right training for them and for the job we're offering - not just the right training for school's league tables?
Now, it's common knowledge that schools already publish all sorts of data, from truancy rates to the number of pupils with special educational needs. Not to mention exam results. So I'm sure parents would be curious too, about how many pupils ended up at university.
But the (unanswered) questions here are around which universities the pupils are going to. And what are they studying? And, more importantly, which job did they end up in?
It's all very well publishing data about how many pupils go to uni, but what for?
OK, it may be too complex to link a pupil's school with the actual career or job they end up in - but at least that notion could be more useful to the government and even employers to help address some of the skills gaps the UK has.
