Laws: Balls must not gain power over exam reading lists

10.35.00am GMT Thu 19th Mar 2009

The Secretary of State for Schools, Ed Balls, is seeking new legal powers to dictate the basic content of every exam in England, including which books children study at GCSE or A-level, research by the Liberal Democrats has uncovered.

A clause in the Education Bill would undermine the independence of the exams watchdog OFQUAL and could allow ministers to interfere with the exams system for political gain.

Commenting, Liberal Democrat Shadow Schools Secretary, David Laws said:

"It is unbelievable that Ed Balls wants to give himself the power to dictate the detailed contents of the curriculum - including precisely which books should be taught at GCSE and A-level.

"What is taught in schools should not be dependent on the whim of some here today gone tomorrow politician. The idea of Ed Balls or Gordon Brown determining which parts of history children are taught or which books and poems they should read is a rather frightening one.

"This revelation shows that the Government's pretence of creating a more independent system of qualifications, curriculum development and oversight is a sham. What is actually happening is that ministers are retaining huge powers to meddle in both what is taught and how standards are measured."