US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order to “begin eliminating” the federal Department of Education.

During this time, he insisted that it was “the right thing to do”, adding that the Department will be shut “as quickly as possible”

Most experts however say that entirely scrapping the DoE would require an act of Congress.

Established in 1979, the department oversees funding for public schools, administers student loans and runs programmes that help low-income students.

BBC News says a common misconception is that the Department operates US schools and sets curricula – this is actually done by states and local districts.

It adds that a relatively small percentage of funding for schools – about 13% – comes from federal fund, with the majority made up from states and local groups.