Education Act 1902

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Education Act 1902 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom affecting education in England and Wales. (Education in Scotland had always been separate and had been brought under the Scotch Education Department, in an act of 1872.) At the time of passage of the Act, the Conservative Party was in power.

Contents 1 Terms 2 Controversy 3 Opposition 4 References

[edit] Terms

The Act abolished the 2568 school boards set up by the Elementary Education Act 1870, as well as all existing School Attendance Committees. Their duties were handed over to local borough or county councils, as Local Education Authorities (LEAs). There were 328 LEAs, which were given powers to establish new secondary and technical schools as well as developing the existing system of elementary schools. These LEAs were in charge of paying teachers, ensuring the teachers were properly qualified and providing necessary books and equipment. In return, the Churches were in charge of providing and maintaining school buildings.

The Act also brought voluntary schools under some control of the government, giving them funding. The different Churches were still responsible for religious education but the LEAs took over all non-religious education. Financial help was also available for adult education, contributing to teacher-training colleges and technical schools.

[edit] Controversy

The Act is seen as controversial as the school boards had been out-performing the voluntary Anglican schools, which had existed before the 1870 Act. As the Conservatives preferred the church schools, they hoped to rectify this imbalance. They were also worried about the radical and secular education provided by the board schools because they perceived that this threatened the status quo.

[edit] Opposition

Opposition for the Act came from several sources. The most notable were the Liberal Party (UK) led by Henry Campbell-Bannerman, the Labour Movement and the non-conformists.

Non-conformist opposition was championed by John Clifford. Clifford formed the National Passive Resistance movement, which hoped to convince more non-conformists to resist the Act and stop paying their rates until it was repealed. By 1906, over 170 men had been imprisoned for this refusal, and yet no change to the law was made.

The Act developed into a major political issue, which contributed significantly to the Liberal Party's winning the General Election in 1906.

[edit] References

"1902 Education Act". http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/Leducation1902.htm. Retrieved on 2007-09-11. 

• Text of Act of 1902

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