Surrounded by students and teachers, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order in the East Room of the White House last night to close the education department, fulfilling his long-standing campaign promises to the Republican electorate, Reuters reported, quoted by BTA.
“We will close it“, the US president said shortly before signing the executive order and added: “We will close it and we will do it as quickly as possible“.
The executive order will leave educational policy in schools almost entirely in the competence of individual states and local councils - a prospect that scares supporters of liberal education.
The decision will mark the beginning of the “closing the department“, Trump said during the ceremony by signing the order. The final closure of the department requires congressional approval, and the president does not have the necessary support for this, Reuters notes.
“We will simply return education back to the state authorities, where it belongs“, Trump said.
The order comes after the department announced last week that it would lay off half of its employees. This is the latest step by Trump in the two months since he returned to the White House, aiming to reformat the US administration and reduce bureaucracy, Reuters notes.