I read that 'leading writers have condemned a government decision to withdraw funding from a charity that provides free books to children to encourage reading'.
My first reaction is to ask why such a charity should exist and my second is to ask why the Government should fund it. The Government pays for education in our schools and it is for parents to deal with the education of children at home. When I was a child, my mother sat with me and taught me to read; I gained an enthusiasm for reading and either bought books out of my pocket money or received them as presents for birthdays or Christmases. If this was insufficient, I borrowed books from the local library, another state funded body.
With all the billions of pounds spent on the education system and hordes of experts and, supposedly, highly qualified teachers that we have, why should it be necessary to have a charity that now takes on the role of encouraging children to read ? Is it that the parents no longer have the time, interest or ability to help their children with their learning and, if so, shane on them !
That this charity apparently receives £13m from the Government is astonishing. The whole notion of charity is that it achieves something Government cannot or will not and the modern practise of Government setting aside resources to give to charities is nonsensical. If a charity is needed, individuals will contribute and that's that. If individuals don't contribute, or don't contribute 'enough', it is not for Government to prop it it up and the charity should cut its cloth according to its available resources.
If there is a real need, this provision of books should be handled directly through the schools, doing away with the need for this charity and its no doubt costly administration. The writers who object so much to the Government's proposals can always contribute some of their own income to a new charity if they wish, though I doubt they will see that as an attractive option.
No comments:
Post a Comment