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Mandarin admits policy entangled in red tape
Education department chief Sir Michael Bichard admitted to MPs yesterday that education policy, such as the teaching quality assessment, had become overly bureaucratic and interventionist. He also warned that there was a need to keep a close eye on student debt.

Magdalene to serenade Mandela
Former South African president Nelson Mandela is in Cambridge today to be made an honorary fellow of Magdalene College. Magdalene College Choir, which last year toured South Africa, is marking the occasion by singing the South African national anthem, "Nkosi Sikelel¡¯ iAfrika".

Blunkett salutes Watford worker
Education and employment secretary David Blunkett today congratulated David Baldwin, a factory worker, of Watford, Herts, on being the millionth person to open an individual learning account. The government has reached this target a year early.