Thousands of headteachers prepare to mass march on Downing Street to demand £27bn infusion into education promised by the new UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
Schools across England faced a crisis that teachers may be required to close during Friday lunchtime if it still persists. Teachers are distraught because they can’t afford to be on duty for a whole work week.
Annual pay cuts were reenacted as a resort. Solutions considered were crowdsourcing appeals and taking upside teaching assignments. That is until the pressure started to boil out.
Campaign group leader and headteacher of Tanbridge House School, Jules White, said that they’re “fed up waiting” that the situation has become unbearable to endure as he mentioned:
“There is a real feeling that enough is enough.”
White emphasized that the dissatisfaction won’t be dispelled by simple “meager offerings.” Like the prior multi-billion investment settlement of NHS, the schools heavily relies on the similar stated figures.
On top of these problems, teachers had taken roles of the police and social services due to cuts to these services, putting the mental health of young children at risk, Mr. White deplored:
“You can’t champion children’s mental health and wellbeing and hope to do it on the cheap.”
Until now, no set of actual amount or time frame has been revealed officially.
UK march traced back
Last July 24, Downing Street was on partial lockdown as protesters gathered outside the gates and shouted objections to Boris Johnson becoming prime minister. And things have begun to rollercoaster since then. It seems like a promise given to the education sector cannot just be similarly ignored.
Last Sept 28, 2018, one can recall that more than two thousand UK headteachers took off from classes for the first-ever march to Westminster demanding increased funds for schools. School leaders from across England, Wales and Northern Ireland met in Parliament Square before marching to Downing Street where a letter was delivered demanding more money. We might expect something of the same scope.
The protest was organized by grassroots campaign group Worth Less? and thousands of school leaders took their stand and made sure the authorities hear their complaints on “collapsing school buildings, significant cuts to teaching staff, bigger class sizes and a loss of support for the most vulnerable pupils amid budget pressures”.
As they say, history repeats itself and we can expect more to happen if the new Prime Minister will continue to turn a blind eye or a deaf ear to deteriorating conditions of UK schools. Teachers can take to the streets and resort to more punitive action if nothing is clarified in the coming days of August.
