IEA Featured Education

When Tony Blair pledged to send 50% of young people to university, many people questioned why.  Two decades later, the target has been hit, but the mountain of evidence shows that the goal has neither boosted social mobility nor led to higher productivity. Writing for ConHome, the IEA's Media Manager Emily Carver argues that 'we ... Continue reading

The pandemic has crystallised and clarified pre-existing concerns that Tony Blair’s expansion policy was 'a hugely expensive scam' and wholesale reform is needed. Writing for Reaction, the IEA's Director of Communications, Annabel Denham argues that 'Covid-19 will force us to re-examine HE’s nature, its place in society, and the value of the higher-level education for ... Continue reading

The pandemic has accelerated rather than caused a crisis in HE, exposing a structural weakness that goes back to the late 1980s, writes the IEA's Dr Stephen Davies. Writing for City AM, Steve argues that 'we should seize the opportunity for a radical rethink of the purpose of HE, and move to a system that ... Continue reading

For the vast majority of the British public who since March have 'obeyed' the lockdown rules, 'the rhetoric coming from those in positions of authority over the past week is a terrible insult', writes the IEA's Director of Communications, Annabel Denham. Writing for the Daily Express, Annabel argues that: 'Regardless of age, we are no ... Continue reading