On Thursday, the 47th United States (US) President, Donald Trump signed an executive order that will commenced the elimination of the federal Department of Education (DoE).
The Next Edition reports that the DoE is in charge of administering federal student loans for college and university students and offering assistance for low-income and disabled students.
In the US, schools are administered and paid for largely at the state level, especially for primary and secondary school – only about 13% of funding for those schools comes from federal sources.
The White House says that dismantling the department will improve student test scores and save money, but Democrats and other critics say the move would leave the most vulnerable students in the lurch.
“I will sign an executive order to begin eliminating the Federal Department of Education once and for all.
“And it sounds strange, doesn’t it? Department of Education, we’re going to eliminate it, and everybody knows it’s right, and the Democrats know it’s right.” Trump stated.
However, democrats and education advocates quickly denounced the action as not only another example of presidential overreach but as an effort that would harm students across the country
Trump says that this is the right thing to do, adding that the DoE will be shut as quickly as possible.
Most experts, however, say that entirely scrapping the department would require an act of Congress
