Bad Education

Flaws of pre-university education in the UK

Recent years, rankings have been published numerating the disastrous performances of British students generally at aged 16 against their international peers in subjects such as maths and sciences. With this serving as the tone for this writing, I want to look at three main flaws I believe currently exist in the education system which in the future will begin to limit the performances of British educated students on an international platform. These will focus on breadth of knowledge, international coverage and a near ‘pre-historic’ educational system that has done little to keep up with rapidly changing demands to our job market.

My analysis and comparison of education systems stem from interactions at an educational institution largely filled with students from over 150 different countries. Within these interactions, conversations and themes of comparable education systems and requirements have brought to my attention what I call an ‘under education’ of British students* (myself being one)

*under the assumption that the student(s) have studied the standard 3 a-levels required for university

Firstly, when comparing the pre-university education of British students against our counterparts who take the international baccalaureate (IB) or European baccalaureate (EB), there is a clear lack in breadth of knowledge which is demanded at this level. For example, the requirements for IB state that you must study quantitative, qualitative, humanities and a linguistics whilst for a-levels you’re encouraged to study three subjects which should be in some way related and designated for a specific career route.

This is problematic for several reasons. Firstly, this works on the assumption that at 17, when applying for university, students are certain on a specific career path in which they wish to follow. Secondly, the encouragement to specialize in an area doesn't bode well for a work place that is ever encouraging for well, all-rounded students who are comfortable being able to undergo a range of assignments with varied demands.

Secondly, I believe the British education system serves its students poorly in the provisioning of international coverage through languages. For reasons unknown to man, the education system sees little importance in the promotion and in trying to necessitate being bilingual. This again creates a gulf between many students who can only speak one language vs. many jobs that require bilingual capabilities as a prerequisite. Again, British students lose further in this because whilst we struggle to speak fluently in several languages, our counterparts continue to lead the way in being well-versed in several languages (it’s common to find international students fluent in three or more languages at my university).

Lastly, the education system that exists today largely excludes the championing of necessary subjects which I believe should be high up on the agenda alongside the usual maths, English and sciences. The aforementioned language problem is one which I believe ought to be dealt with within the education system. In addition to this, the changing demands in job skills and anticipated future job growth seeing the need for students to be proficient in programming languages, at a much younger level, both of these should be heavily invested into with the former being carried on right onto the end of compulsory education.

In hindsight, had I been granted the job of education minister, I would work in formulating a pre-university post GCSE education model that champions diversity and creativy. I would most likely adopt a model similar to the EB system in which students are required to study quantitative subjects, humanities/arts and languages to the age of 18.

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