Letter: Nursery education: vital for children's development or simply hothousing?

Sir: I would like to support Susan Elkin, who in her article 'Teach parents, then the children' (16 November) questions the supposed need for nursery education for all under-fives. I am uneasy at the prospect of compulsory institutional learning from the age of three, thereby increasing the amount of schooling to at least 13 years and, in some cases, almost 20 years.

It doesn't take 20 years to achieve high academic standards. Is it, like lawyers, really necessary to consume so many school dinners in order to qualify as a member of society in the 21st century?

Yours faithfully,

M. SUTTON

Canterbury, Kent

16 November