SOLUTION: Private education should be abolished | My Assignment Tutor

Example Debate Contribution Topic: ‘Private education should be abolished’ Position: For Transcript: 2 minutes of allocated time at start of debate Conclusion / introductory sentence: “Private education should be abolished for a host of related reasons, the most crucial of which will be outlined here today.” Premise 1: The primary argument in favour of abolishing private schools is that the current system results in a lack of representation of working-class individuals in society’s key positions. According to Weale, The Guardian’s educational correspondent: “71% of top military officers, 74% of top judges and 61% of the country’s top doctors were educated privately”. Though it could be argued that these figures are representative of the higher educational standards in the private sector, it is difficult to dispute that they display a disproportionate rate of representation for students that have attended private institutions. This could reduce aspiration among those educated at comprehensive schools, as they see few role models similar to themselves. Conversely, a proportionate rate of working-class representation – achieved by abolishing private schools – could inspire increased innovation and productivity among a significant portion of the working population. It is also important to recognise that this rate of representation can become entrenched across generations for economic reasons. Private school students are more likely to acquire an authoritative job such as those mentioned previously, all of which are rewarded with a comparatively a high salary, making them better able to afford private education or tuition for their children. Therefore, it is clear private schools should be abolished in order to increase working-class representation across the most senior roles within our society today. *Alternatively, students could put forward two shorter premises during this time 5 minutes of time available on request Premise 2: Another key premise in favour of abolishing private education is that the legal, but arguably unethical usage of charitable status among private schools deprives the government of much-needed tax revenue. According to The Times, charitable status enables England’s 2,250 private schools to “enjoy at least 80 per cent relief on business rates, with some paying none at all” in an arrangement that Mason, writing in The Independent, claims “saves [Eton] more than £500,000 a year and Dulwich College £600,000”, despite the former generating £62m in income and a surplus of £3.2m in 2014. These figures suggest that private schools are in fact profitable entities, and should therefore be liable to pay business rates in line with almost all other profitable organisations in the country. Much of the debate here comes down to the interpretation of ‘public benefit’, which is the role a charity should fulfil by definition. While schools such as Eton might argue public benefit in the form of scholarships to students from low-income families and alleviation of pressure on local comprehensive schools, others might argue that the school is the preserve of the wealthy and provides little benefit beyond its own walls. While opponents of this position would point to other ways private education contributes to the UK economy, these effects are outweighed by such a loss of tax revenue. Therefore, it is clear that private schools’ questionable usage of charitable status and the ramifications for generating tax revenue is one reason why private education should be abolished. *Alternatively, students could put forward two shorter premises as two separate contributions Rebuttal: Summary of opposition point: Topic sentence: Private education should not be abolished because it is popular across the political spectrumEvidence (HMC / ComRes): When asked whether parents should have the right to opt to pay for their children’s education, 68% of survey respondents agreed, including:83% of Conservative voters70% of Lib Dem voters56% of Labour voters Counter-argument: Despite the evidence provided by the opposition, the supposed popularity of private education is far from a clear picture, meaning this research alone cannot be reason enough to save it from abolition. Speaking in The Guardian, a Labour Party spokesperson pointed out that leading questions were often used when surveying the popularity of private education, and this appears to be a similar case. This means that many people are more likely to agree with statements such as “parents should have the right to pay for their children’s education” because they might assume this refers to occasional tuition, or even potentially to extra-curricular activities, both of which are within reach for a high proportion of parents from a financial perspective. A smaller proportion of respondents are likely to agree were the questions to focus on more definable aspects and outcomes of the private schooling system. For example, were the question to be re-worded in a leading way but from an alternative position (such as “The quality of a child’s education should be determined by their parents’ salaries”), the outcome of this study is likely to have been significantly different. As such, the research stated by the opposition is not sufficient to prove the widespread popularity of private education that has been claimed, and therefore this argument is not enough to justify the continuation of private education in its current form. Key points on rebuttals: Plan for rebuttals when establishing your own premisesConsider what points the opposition is likely to make and which counter-points would be most effective against themTry to ensure your rebuttals have structure (the same structure recommended for your premises is a viable option)The premises you plan can be converted into rebuttals without too much effort providing they relate specifically to an opposition pointLook to include evidence to support rebuttals wherever possible (this could come from one of your premises, or you could list more broadly-relevant evidence on your A5 notes sheet)Rebut oppositional arguments directly, rather than the people arguing on the other side of the debateTake notes while the opposition are delivering their points so you have something to respond to when the opportunity arises