We must stop subsidising private schools

I NOTE your article about the increases in costs that the private sector of education faces (“Private schools under threat from rising costs and rates relief blow”, The Herald, February 19). Yet the taxpayer still significantly subsidises private schools.

The right of parents and not the state to be responsible for a child’s education is vital. But when a parent chooses what is best for their child are they choosing for academic advantage and worldly success or are they choosing that the society their child will grow up to be part of will be more just and equal?

And while parents have the right to choose, the state, if it is promoting the common good, also has the responsibility of deciding where its resources are best allocated. The existence of a large and influential private education sector profoundly skews children’s life chances and effectively buys and perpetuates privilege. The existence of the private sector does not, in general, promote the common good.

The state should not subsidise the private sector unless that provision is socially necessary (for example, some special schools). So charitable status should go, pension support should go, the private sector should contribute to the costs of teachers trained at the public expense who teach in private schools and school fees should be taxed.

Public resources should support the public good.

David Mumford,

10 Temple Mains Steading, Innerwick,

Dunbar. THERE are two things in life that every person in the UK has and will benefit from, education and the National Health Service.

We all pay for the NHS throughout our lives by income tax and yet education remains as a property tax.

The property never receives the benefit and the tax can never be construed as being means tested, so why not pass this element on to HMRC where everyone will pay a contribution according to their means?

Clearly there will be major political issues as income tax is a Westminster issue but surely our politicians can see that this could solve a major problem by reducing council tax bills by almost half at a time.

This would be at a time when increases are on the way and yet local authority budgets are being cut.

The Barclay Report has also produced the potential of Edinburgh City Council having to find an additional £6.9 million (to fund 1,750 pupils whose parents are likely to no longer pay for school fees following big increases in fees with the removal of full charitable relief for independent schools.

Unless the burden of education is removed entirely from the householder, education budgets will continue to suffer and other council services will remain underfunded. You cannot get enough out of the council tax to do it all.

John Sharp,

14 Foulpapple Road,

Newmilns,

Ayrshire.