education of recruits
Children’s rights groups call on MoD to stop recruiting children
24/05/2016Child Soldiers International
Child Soldiers International
An open letter to the Ministry of Defence from national children’s organisations and rights groups calls on them to stop recruiting 16 and 17 year olds into the armed forces. The letter has been made public on the same day that the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child begins its periodic examination of the UK’s record on child rights. In 2008, the UN urged the UK to raise the enlistment age to 18.
Armed forces not required to offer soldiers aged 16-17 the same standard of education that is required in civilian life
30/06/2015Child Soldiers International
Child Soldiers International
Compulsory education for 16-17s: research reveals that the armed forces are not required to give child soldiers the same minimum standard as civilian institutions. The minimum attainment requirement of the Army (which has the vast majority of children in the armed forces) is shown to be very low.
The Armed Forces Covenant in Action? Part 4: Education of service personnel
18/07/2013http://www.parliament.uk
http://www.parliament.uk
A new House of Commons Defence Committee report calls for improvements in service education and asks for further information is needed on why the Army is so dependent on recruiting personnel under the age of 18 years compared to the other two Services, and whether steps are being taken to reduce this dependency.
Almost 40% of army recruits have reading age of 11, MPs warn
18/07/2013BBC
BBC
Almost two-fifths (39%) of recruits to the Army have the reading ability of an 11-year-old or lower, MPs have warned.