Under questioning from House Republicans, Duncan defended his plans to end student loan subsidies to banks, saying the move would free up billions for higher education. Converting all student loans to the government’s Direct Loan program would save up to $90 billion in a decade, he said. “We want to move out of the business of subsidizing banks,” he said.
By transferring these savings to student aid, “We can help students for decades,” he added.
The secretary also outlined an ambitious goal for K-12 education, promising to turn around 1,000 low-performing schools each year for the next five years. This action is particularly critical for students of color, he said, since 20 percent of the nation’s public schools produce about 75 percent of the nation’s minority dropouts.
“We must act with a sense of urgency,” he said. “We have to work with these dropout factories and do something dramatically different for these students.”
Another element of the Obama agenda is the “Race to the Top” fund, or competitive grants to states to speed up education reform efforts. To work with low-income children as early as possible, the administration’s budget also would provide $800 million for new early childhood education programs, including $500 million through the government’s Title I program.
The budget is “a comprehensive plan,” he said, “that meets the educational needs of our youngest citizens from cradle to career.”
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