The Keighley News this week features the tale of Jordan Rhodes, a talented teenage dancer who can't get funding to pursue her training - but can't be funded because the course she's heading for is a 'diploma' not a 'degree'. Had she headed off to some degree in "dance studies" or "arts marketing" our Government would fund her and she could access student loans. But actually learning how to dance? No, won't fund that!
We spend time and money supporting specialist performing arts schools such as Parkside in Cullingworth but when these schools do their job of producing talented young people we stop them pursuing perfomance courses because they're not "degrees". Frankly I'd rather a single talented girl or boy like Jordan than the hundreds of journalism, media studies and marketing graduates churned out by the former polytechnics.
We really are a nation of philistines!
1 comment:
Damn right.
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