Hear All Sides

EDUCATION

IT'S wonderful that so many people have achieved such good A-level results. But here are a few thoughts.

This was despite teachers and others constantly bemoaning that there's not enough money and morale is low. Would less money produce even better grades?

Friends in higher education bemoan the levels of skill and knowledge of some university entrants, especially in subjects like maths and science which require facts and techniques rather than creative writing abilities.

As an employer, I receive many applications from graduates whose standards of English grammar are poor. Life skills can be deficient too - many don't even sign the letter asking me for a job.

There are more university places than students to fill them. This isn't a sign of under-funding either. About five times the proportion of the population now go to university than in my day, yet there's still about the same proportion of degrees in only four subdivisions. Are young people any more intelligent than in years gone by? Or are we indeed, despite protestations, experiencing steady grade drift? - Robin Ashby, Newcastle.

THE BARNETT FORMULA

I WAS brought up with a tin bath and outside toilet and, as a boy, witnessed family members waiting in line to get their backs scrubbed after shifts in the collieries.

Years spent away from my family and friends serving my country gave me plenty of time to read all the books about North-East history.

The attitude of Hugh Pender (HAS, Aug 17) to blame the Tories for everything bad is the easy way out. We must all keep quiet and accept it when good jobs are lost under Labour.

Fact: Harold Wilson and Lord Robens closed down the mining industry in West Durham during the late 1960s and then sanctioned a nuclear power station at Hartlepool. Which Labour councils opposed the introduction of gas as a household fuel?

Fact, and contrary to what the Socialists may want to believe: massive investment under the Tories during the 1980s and 1990s was provided to the North-East, Central Scotland (Silicon Glen) and South Wales. So much so, that Scotland and Wales remain at a bigger advantage under the Barnett Formula.

I plead with The Northern Echo to start another excellent campaign and fight the Barnett Formula. We are the best workforce, don't accept being second best. - Jim Tague, Bishop Auckland.

GENOA

ANY government worth its salt would not spend £120m on posh nosh out of taxpayer's money when the third world debt is spiralling out of control.

The only insult came from the world leaders who did not come up with any creative answers on the real issues. That is why there were demonstrations. It was a glorified get-together at the expense of the taxpayer.

I do not believe in violence. I believe democracy and free speech. - DT Murray, Coxhoe, Durham.

GNER

AS a regular traveller on the East Coast main line for over ten years, I do not recognise CJ Blair's picture of GNER (HAS, Aug 18). Colleagues who have to endure the West Coast route from Liverpool to London regard the North-East as being extremely fortunate to be served by GNER. My own experience is of efficient courteous on-train assistance when things have occasionally gone wrong and of trains that are even cleared of rubbish mid-journey.

The seven-year target for increased passenger use was reached within a couple of years, leading to the need to expand the service. With only five years then remaining of the original franchise, it was uneconomic for GNER to commit the huge capital investment required to re-equip with new vehicles.

Quite justifiably, they argued for a new 20-year franchise (like that given from the start to Virgin on the West Coast) so that they could replace the rolling stock.

The award of a two-year franchise is a sick joke as it inevitably delays major investment in this main artery, on which our region depends. - Peter Shipp, Marske.

ISLAM

PETER Mullen rightly points out that the BBC is devoting quite a chunk of air time, over an hour on most evenings, in promoting Islam (Echo, Aug 14).

At present, the Muslim Taliban in Afghanistan is threatening to execute aid workers for preaching Christianity. As Peter Mullen says, imagine the outcry if Muslims in this country were ever subjected to such religious persecution by Christians.

You'd never have hours of TV time devoted to Christianity in a Muslim country. I wonder if the BBC will now devote a similar amount of screen time to other faiths, especially Christianity, which is after all, supposed to be our national religion. - EA Moralee, Billingham.