WHY EVERYONE INTERESTED IN EDUCATION SHOULD SUPPORT A UNIVERSAL BASIC INCOME

Over the past few years, there has been an increasing interest in the idea of a Universal Basic Income across the globe.  On the 7^th May, the Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell, attended the launch of a report by the RSA on how the Basic Income could become a UK reality and other countries have run trials on the basic income, most recently Finland. It also features in Rutger Bregman’s book ‘Utopia for Realists’ which I have featured in a previous blog, where I explain that anyone interested in education should start becoming more active in supporting social policies that will benefit those we are trying to help.

When looking at the some of the major issues in schools, behaviour and wellbeing are often at the top of the list. There are obviously policies that can be introduced in schools that would help deal with these problems but I believe we can all agree that there are wider societal issues that cause these issues. It is therefore interesting to wonder whether the introduction of a Universal Basic Income (UBI) would help schools improve behaviour and wellbeing.

To start with, we need to understand what a UBI actually is and the chief authority on the subject is Guy Standing who has written an extensive book on the subject ‘Basic Income: And How We Can Make It Happen’, as well as the report ‘Basic Income as a Common Dividend’ that was launched at the RSA. He is part of the Basic Income Earth Network (BIEN) that describe the Basic Income as “…a periodic cash payment unconditionally delivered to all on an individual basis, without means-test or work requirement.”

More information and the characteristics of the UBI can be found on the link provided but basically the UBI creates a safety net for every citizen within the country. In Finland’s trial, this safety net was the equivalent of £490 a month for the 2,000 unemployed people who were on the 2-year trial. It is a basic income. It is not something you can live a life of luxury on but it does create a safety net for all without have to go through the indignity of the present system where you have to prove your need for support.

Many behavioural problems and the decline in student wellbeing in school can be attributed to the structure of society and our welfare system. Replacing the current system with a UBI system can hopefully eradicate many of these problems. We can show this by using the evidence from trials that have already been run, mapped against some of the reasons Sue Palmer listed as why bad behaviour occurred in schools.

High on her list is the issue of childcare and how the increase in the number of working mothers with very young children has left a ‘gaping hole’ in the home. This has been encouraged by the current welfare system where unpaid work is not valued and therefore in order to gain benefits, you have to actively seek work and take any job that comes your way. The UBI recognises that all work is of value even when it is not paid labour. With the introduction of a UBI, the ‘gaping hole’ can be filled, which then means that young children can have the right support from an early age which should improve behaviour in the long term. It is slightly odd that the government encourages childcare but not by the parents of the child. In UBI trials, parents have reduced their working week in order to spend more time with their family. This isn’t a mandate for females (as the main carer in most households) to stay at home, it’s about giving them the freedom to choose whether they want to or not.

Following on from this is the breakdown in communication between parents and their children. In a recent article by Nicola Woolcock, she states a survey that suggested a third of parents used Amazon and Apple devices to read bedtime stories to their children. Tom Bennett (The UK Behaviour Tsar) commented on Twitter that it was the moment civilisation gave up on children. The accusation of parents being lazy maybe true but again we should point to the current welfare system that pushes parents out of the door to work long hours in low wage jobs, without thinking about the knock on consequences on family life. It could well be that parents of these children are being the exact opposite of lazy. This breakdown in communication, not helped by the rise in new technologies, can lead to long term development issues that eventually creates bad behaviour in schools. Under the Universal Credit Scheme, the marginal tax of entering work can be around 80% and therefore they have to work more hours to make up for the lost income. With the UBI, the extra income earned is just added on top which clearly has massive benefits.

In that same Nicola Woolcock article, it states that two thirds of children spend time on smartphones, tablets or television before going to bed. Another major reason for poor behaviour is a lack of sleep and looking at technology just before bedtime has been associated with restless nights. One could make the same case for the reasons behind this ‘poor’ parenting, that some are just too tired due to the demands of earning an income. A UBI will give families the opportunity to say no to exploitative work, where currently at the moment, they have accept to any job offered in order to receive their benefits.  A study from the TUC shows that the UK work the longest hours in the EU. As TUC general secretary, Francis O’Grady said, “Britain’s long hour culture is nothing to be proud of. It’s robbing workers of a decent home life and time with their loved ones. Overwork, stress and exhaustion have become the new normal…”

Family breakdown in the UK is also one of the highest in Europe and the precarious nature of work for many low-income families can exacerbate the problem. A UBI can potentially take much of the stress away and can help families that lack of funds to buy the necessities that they need. More importantly though, as the UBI is paid to each individual (unlike the present system that is paid to the household), it can also give people with abusive and domineering partners an opportunity to break away from the dependency of another person’s income. I know this is a contradictory point but happy families, no matter of what ilk, is better for society as a whole and for behaviour and wellbeing in schools.

From a wellbeing perspective, the competitive nature of society has created a winner takes all society and this has fed into the school system and creates huge amounts of stress for students and a deterioration in their wellbeing. Every major standardised test or exam has now become a cliff edge in a young person’s life because they know the ramifications of failure. If you do not do well at the school, you are going to enter a harsh and uncaring welfare system and you are going to be labelled as a ‘shirker’. Again, the UBI offers up a chance for society to share the wealth of our land (the UBI is sometimes referred to as a ‘citizen’s dividend’) and show students that they will be supported no matter. This then creates peace of mind and a sense of freedom to just go for it in school!

Children also receive the UBI and this means for poorer students studying GCSE or A Level they would not need to support their family income and go to work, which means they can be fresher for the school day. They might not end up in gangs earning money by nefarious means, which again can improve wellbeing and behaviour in schools. A pilot in Winnipeg showed that boys were less likely to drop out of high school and reduced their working hours in order to spend more time on their studies. In other pilots across Latin America, Indian, Bangladesh and Cambodia, there was less absenteeism amongst girls in school. One final point related to UBI is that because all children get the income, there would no longer be a stigma of receiving benefits and therefore you’d expect an improvement in self-esteem for the poorest and less bullying.

Many people will be wondering how it would be funded and you can read more about how this can be done in Guy Standing’s book but where there is the political will, there is a way, as we saw during the financial crisis in 2008. Most ways of paying for it does lead to some redistribution but if you are interested in the inequality gap in schools, then ultimately we do need to see a reduction of inequality outside of it.

Whenever I read about behaviour and wellbeing in schools, I always think that there is only so much schools can do because it is a societal problem. This means we have to come up with bold structural changes that can help and the UBI is one such policy. The UBI creates a society that finally values unpaid work and gives a genuine safety net unlike the current system that the UN rapporteur Professor Philip Alston described as being ‘harsh and uncaring’ and had ‘continually put people further into poverty’ which fuels behavioural and wellbeing issues in school. I firmly believe that the wider educational establishment should support the introduction of a UBI and I hope after reading this, you do too!