Gordon Brown has promised to make Britain's schools the best in the world as he prepared to put education and skills at the heart of his Pre-Budget Report.
Mr Brown said Britain needed to "do better" and produce more graduates to compete with countries such as India and China.
His remarks came ahead of what will almost certainly be his final Pre-Budget Report - a package of measures which is also expected to include bad news for motorists in the form of an end to the three-year freeze on fuel duty.
"We have got to have 21st-century schools with the white boards, computers, the facilities, the sports facilities, which are going to be important in the future - the music and culture and everything else," Mr Brown told GMTV.
"We want to have the best schools in the world, we want to have the children's centres, the colleges and the universities, so there are chances for people."
Mr Brown is expected to announce new cash for the refurbishment of thousands of state schools, including the construction of new facilities for arts and sports.
He is also set to use his tenth annual PBR to burnish his green credentials ahead of his expected move to 10 Downing Street next year.
Analysts predicted an end to the three-year freeze on fuel duty increases as part of a package aimed at encouraging people to reduce their emissions of greenhouse gases.
Alongside a fuel tax rise in line with inflation, there may be a doubling in levies on air passengers and possibly further increases in vehicle excise duty for gas-guzzling 4x4s.
The case for green taxes was made by October's Stern Report, commissioned by the Chancellor, which argued that 1% of global GDP should be devoted each year to preventing global warming.
