Kingsley Amis was right - more means worse

Amis was referring specifically to universities but we can widen this a bit to government involvement in education itself:

The government is promising more training for under-21s in England, as it presses ahead with controversial plans to scrap funding for postgraduate apprenticeships.

Only students under the age of 21 will qualify for funding for level 7 apprenticeships – the highest level, considered equivalent to a master's degree - under the plans confirmed on Tuesday.

This means many higher apprenticeships would have to be completely paid for by employers.

Hmm, gosh. Now we have had considerable - extra and new - recent state involvement in apprenticeships. Employers now get taxed for a fund which then pays for apprentices. As we’ve noted before this means fewer apprentices.

The number of new apprenticeships has fallen by up to two fifths since the introduction of the government’s “broken” levy system, new research shows.

There has been a 41 per cent decline in the number of apprenticeship starts for those under the age of 19 since the scheme came into force, according to analysis by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD). For those aged between 19 and 24, participation has fallen by 36 per cent.

Now government - having taken control of the system - is to shrink it even more. All pay, fewer gain.

Amis was right, more government means worse. Minarchy it is then.

Tim Worstall