Obama, Romney dispute private-sector's role in education

Over the past week on the campaign trail, President Barack Obama and Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney made education a key talking point.

In a bid to garner young voters and their parents, Obama accused his rival of planning to cut aid to college students. Romney retaliated by saying that Obama had failed to curb the rising cost of tuition.

Obama and Romney also battled it out over the role of the private sector in the American education system, reflecting their broader philosophical ideologies.

Romney is seeking to push the private sector in teaching more American kids and training teachers. He has said he would use public dollars to enroll more children in private schools, continue with federal aid to private and for-profit colleges and pay private banks to take over part of the federal student loan program.

However, Obama is looking to boost the government's role in education.

He has already directed billions of dollars in funds to states that took up his revamped kindergarten to 12th grade curriculum and secured billions more in public funding to help states avoid teacher layoffs.

In higher education, Obama has increased federal student aid and cracked down on for-profit colleges that he has accused of leaving students with too much debt and not enought job prospects.

Political pundits expect education policy to feature heavily before the November 6 election as the topic encapsulates the candidates' polar views on the role of government.