WE all remember the slogan which swept New Labour to power in 1997: "Education, Education, Education".

Twelve years on and I can see little which has changed.

Schools are perennially under-funded; standards of reading and writing at primary school are below the standard of our EU counterparts; schools are unable to attract and retain enough good teachers; the exam system is in desperate need of reform.

Over the last 10 years four million pupils have left school without basic qualifications: five GCSE passes including English and maths.

Three and a half million children have left school without even a C pass in mathematics.

It is quite remarkable then, that given the lack of support they receive, our local schools and colleges continue to perform as well as they do.

I assure you this is despite, not because of, government policy.

Sadly, throughout Devon, I have seen the consequences of the Government's failure to address the problems with our schools.

Here are just three examples of the problems:

South Devon College is a further education college which has flourished under the inspired leadership of principal Heather Maxwell who was recently honoured with the OBE for her work, but is sadly leaving at the end of the summer term.

The college's continued success has resulted in a desperate need to expand in order to offer more courses for the growing numbers of students who want to attend.

However, the £23million building expansion which was to start last month has been brought to an abrupt halt by the failure of the Learning and Skills Council, a government quango, to allocate the necessary funds.

This has potentially disastrous consequences for young people throughout Torbay.

With the downturn in the economy causing a considerable number of job losses, courses available at colleges like South Devon are a prerequisite for getting young people equipped for work.

The last thing Government should do is cut their education budget.

This flies in the face of their education rhetoric.

Lord Leitch's report (2006) into skills and training, predicted that even if the Government's current targets are met, skills in the UK would still lag behind comparable countries by 2020.

In the light of such evidence the Government should be providing greater opportunities for young people to obtain qualifications and skills for our future work force.

The growth industries of the future, namely pharmaceuticals, nuclear energy, renewables, biotechnology, IT and broadcast entertainment, demand an appropriately educated workforce.

The second example is Dartmouth Community College, which provides a range of educational opportunities for the local community: pupils during the day and adult education classes in the evening.

The problem is some of the buildings at the college are falling to bits.

The college has not benefited from the funds the Government trumpeted it would provide by bringing forward its schools rebuilding programme.

Even though the school is in urgent need of repair and on the priority list of Devon County Council, the Government refuses to bring forward the building date from 2012 to 2010.

The progress of potential development is thus being hampered.

Surely, the fifth richest country in the world should be able to provide adequate and modern school buildings for its children?

Perhaps the most important element of education reform is to make teaching an attractive career so as to recruit inspirational teachers into the classroom.

Having a team of good teachers and a dedicated head significantly drives the performance of any school forward.

Why then has the Government recently taken the decision to end the 'Fast Track Teaching programme' — a scheme launched to recruit high-achieving teachers into leadership roles?

This decision has badly let down the excellent geography teacher Tom Graham at Kingsbridge Community College, who together with hundreds of other teachers throughout the country, were told the Fast Track Teaching programme will end prematurely on August 31.

The five-year scheme was designed to give talented teachers opportunity to receive the appropriate training, as well as rewarding them with a higher salary band and a retention allowance of £2,000 per annum, making it possible for teachers who would otherwise seek better paid London positions, to move to country areas like Kingsbridge which wouldn't normally attract such teachers.

To jettison the scheme the way the Government has done leaves many potential head teachers at a loss to know how to proceed.

There is much anger brewing among these teachers who understandably feel they have been short changed.

So where does all this leave New Labour's commitment to 'Education, Education, Education'? Discredited I fear.

The grim economic realities make education reform more vital than ever.

Reforming schools, providing funding for further education colleges as well as getting more good teachers into the classroom is a prerequisite to the future success of our country.

Other European countries have now recognised the pressing need to enhance their own education system to give children the opportunity for higher education.

Why should our children be denied this?

If we are to remain a major player in the world then one of first priorities must be to ensure the next generation are properly equipped for the task so they can enter the labour market with the knowledge, skills, qualifications and optimism to keep Britain in the lead.