Education Act 1902

Education Act 1902 is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom affecting education in England and Wales. (Education in Scotland had always been separate, and had been brought under the Scotch Education Department in an act of 1872) At the time of passing, the Conservative Party was in power.

Terms

The Act abolished the 2568 school boards set up by the Education Act 1870 and handed their duties over to Local Education Authorities (LEAs). It also brought voluntary schools under some control of the government, giving them funding.

Controversy

The Act is seen as controversial as the school boards had been out-performing the voluntary Anglican schools which had existed before the 1870 Act. As the Conservatives preferred the church schools they hoped to rectify this imbalance. They were also worried about the radical and secular education provided by the board schools as this threatened the status quo.

Opposition

Opposition for the Act came from several sources. The most notable were the Liberal Party (UK) led by Henry Campbell-Bannerman, the Labour Movement and the non-conformists.

Non-conformist opposition was championed by John Clifford. Clifford formed the National Passive Resistance movement which hoped to convince more non-conformists to resist the Act and stop paying their rates until it was repealed. By 1906, 107 men had been imprisoned for this refusal, and yet no change to the law was made.

In 1902 the Conservative government introduced a new Education Act that abolished all 2568 school boards and handed over their duties to local borough or county councils. These new Local Education Authorities (LEAs) were given powers to establish new secondary and technical schools as well as developing the existing system of elementary schools.

The 1902 Education Act became a major political issue and was one of the main reasons for the Liberal Party victory in the 1906 General Election.

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