The US elections 2016 have taken the entire world by surprise. While all the pre election polls hinted towards a Hillary Clinton victory, Donald Trump surprised one and all by becoming the President – elect of the United States of America. Now that it is certain that Donald Trump would be the next US president, it would serve as well if we take a look at his key policies, especially education. As soon to be the leader of the free world, the policies adopted by Trump have the potential to change the course of history.
During his entire election campaign, Donald Trump hasn’t come out in the open about his clear plans on education. One of the ideas that he tried to bring forth was the ‘market driven’ approach to education. This is against the theory held by the Democrats, President Barack Obama and the civil right groups who want the government to act as a safety valve for the students coming from the vulnerable sections of the society.
In 2015, Every Student Succeeds Act was passed by the US Congress which gave a significant amount of power to the states in the country. The Obama administration also tried to hang on to some power like the federal funds allocated for the education of poor students. While the Democrats saw this as an important step, the Republican party of Donald Trump saw this as an overreaching attempt of the Obama Administration to tighten its hold on education.
One of the other standout promises made by Trump during this campaign was the promise to repeal the widely accepted ‘common core’ standards. But as per the experts, this won’t be possible since the common core is a set of standards adopted by the states and do not come under the dictation of the federal government per se. Over 40 states have gradually adopted these standards and repealing them suddenly could hamper the entire education set up throughout the country.
The one promise that Trump has actually convert into reality is increasing the usage of vouchers given to the students with the help of which they can use federal money and take admission in a school of their choice, irrespective of that school being a charter school, private school and an orthodox public school. The President elect has pledged to support with particular move with a $20 billion push. With Trump’s party controlling both the Houses, this might actually turn into a reality.
Like with all other departments, Trump’s policy on education essentially remains a Pandora box and no one is willing to bet on the final outcome. The best bet at this moment is only to wait and watch how it all unfolds.
