Schoolchildren and students should be tested for drugs that improve their educational performance in similar fashion to elite athletes, a prominent think-tank says today.
The development of drugs that improve memory will have as great an effect on education as steroids and hormones have had on sport, and their use should be strictly controlled by the Government, according to a report from Demos. As such cognitive enhancement drugs become more widely available they will be “pushed” on pupils by parents and teachers seeking to improve their exam results, the independent think-tank argues in the pamphlet Better Humans?
The report also predicts dramatic improvements in life expectancy over the next century, with people potentially living to 150. It suggests that the Government consider a retirement age “escalator” to reflect this, which could eventually raise it to 80 or 90.