Abstract
The Education Reform Act of 1988 was intended to drastically reform the English education system, as was clearly shown by the introduction of the national curriculum. It seemed that Grant-Maintained School was at the very centre of the reform. The G-M School opted out of the control of LEA and as a result obtained a grant from the central government, but, at the same time, it retained some decentralizing aspects since the government entrusted the School Governing Body with personnel administration, budget use, and school management. The Conservative government also pushed forward its policy further in the Education Act of 1993. However, the policy was met with a variety of criticism such as 'It serves to create discrimination among schools,' 'It tends to go towards centralization,' and 'It encourages social injustices.' After the transfer of power from the Conservative party to the Labour party, the Labour party still maintained the former government's policy on the assumption that it will bring several qualitative changes. The details and the implications of the reform by the new government, therefore, shall be the subject of future critical assessment.
