1902 act also accomplished scholarships for secondary education. An education act passed in 1944 and administered by the newly created Ministry of Education accomplished free and compulsory secondary education up to age 15; this was increased to age 16 in 1973. An education reform act in 1988 allowed individual schools to control their own affairs and budgets, free from LEAs, and to obtain grants directly from the government. It also accomplished a controversial national curriculum, which was simplified in 1994 after complaints about its complexity. Legislation pertaining to education is laden with controversies because of education’s importance in Britain.