Donald Trump has signed an executive order that will see the Department of Education (DoE) dismantled, prompting a wave of people to express their concern.
Since taking office in January, the POTUS has signed any number of executive orders, making it clear beyond all doubt that he will do his utmost to make good on the multitude promises he made whilst on the campaign trail.
Yet while Trump’s most fervent supporters are celebrating the doggedness with which he is pursuing change, there remain tens, if not hundreds of thousands who worry over the ramifications of the new system he is vying to put in place.
The latest big act of Trump’s administration sees the President signing into effect a bill regarding the DoE’s closure. At present there are just over 2,000 people still working for the department, formally created in 1979 (though its origins stretch back all the way to 1867 and President Andrew Johnson).
On Thursday (March 20), the White House confirmed that the DoE will continue to manage federal student loans, but the order signed by Trump appears to state the opposite.
The document reads that the department does not have the manpower to oversee its 1.6 trillion dollar loan portfolio and so ‘must return bank functions to an entity equipped to serve America’s students’.
Needless to say, the move has split opinion.
Kevin Roberts, president of the Heritage Foundation who is in favor of the DoE’s dismantlement, said: “For decades, it has funnelled billions of taxpayer dollars into a failing system — one that prioritises leftist indoctrination over academic excellence, all while student achievement stagnates and America falls further behind.”
Yet there are those who have been openly critical of Trump’s zest. National Education Association President Becky Pringle accused the POTUS and his administration of having “abandoned students, parents, and educators across the nation.”
As per reports, Trump’s political opponents are rumored to be preparing to lodge a series of legal challenges. At the ceremony where he signed the new executive order, Trump was flanked by children seated at school desks.
“It sounds strange, doesn’t it? Department of Education. We’re going to eliminate it,” the President said. Before he put pen to paper, Trump turned to the children and asked them: “Should I do this?”
Congressional approval will be needed to abolish the department completely, and Trump said he hoped Democrats would vote in favor.
“I hope they’re going to be voting for it,” Trump said, “because ultimately it may come before them.”
In a justification for eliminating the department, Education Secretary Linda McMahon said: “I think it’s important to note what the Department of Education does not do. The Department of Education doesn’t educate anyone. It doesn’t hire teachers. It doesn’t establish curriculum. It doesn’t hire school boards or superintendents. It really is to help provide funding so that the states themselves can help with their own programs. But that creativity and innovation has to come from the state level.”
As per NBC, McMahon and the administration have already started the process of dismantling the DoE in recent weeks, cutting its workforce nearly in half.
What do you think of Trump’s latest executive order? Let us know in the comments.
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