Letter: Blunkett reprimand

Sir: I'd just like to express my frustration with the sequence of soundbite sentences, cliches and bullet points that passed for an essay by David Blunkett on why educational standards should be forever improved ("We cannot afford to educate only a small elite", 27 August).

While his thrust is generally acceptable, he did little to explain exactly why qualifications for all matter when there are only so many jobs to go round, of which only so many require educational achievement. We could all have several GCSEs, but this would not obviate the need for someone to sweep the streets.

But what demonstrated more the vacuity of this piece was that the most significant observation of all, that of motivating second or third generation unemployed young people to actually want to be educated, was not addressed at all. The situation was described at the end of one paragraph, grabbing me with its importance, only to be ignored in the next.

This collection of words seemed to simply be the speaker's notes for some feel-good presentation of how important the government thinks education is.

PAUL FREEMAN

Wotton-under-Edge

Gloucestershire