Gove 'open to idea of schools making profit'

H H

Halfpenny

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What planet is this man living on?

<a class="postlink" href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2012/may/29/michael-gove-open-state-schools-profit?fb=native" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2012 ... ?fb=native</a>

Education secretary Michael Gove has given his clearest indication yet that a future Tory government would be willing to let state schools be run for a profit.

Giving evidence to the Leveson inquiry into phone hacking, Gove was asked whether he hoped free schools would be able to make profits in the second term of a Tory-led government.

He replied: "It's my belief that we could move to that situation but at the moment, it's important to recognise that the free schools movement is succeeding without that element and I think we should cross that bridge when we come to it."

Allowing schools to make a profit is politically toxic. A Populus poll earlier this year found overwhelming public opposition to the idea.

It is also a sore point in the coalition. Nick Clegg made a speech in September last year in which he ruled out profit-making, saying: "let me reassure you … no to running schools for a profit, not in our state-funded education sector."

Alluding to coalition tensions, Gove said: "There are some of my colleagues in the coalition who are very sceptical of the benefits of profit. I have an open mind. I believe that it may be the case that we can augment the quality of state education by extending the range of people involved in its provision."

Previously he has said that while he is a "pragmatist" on the question of profit-making, it was not necessary at present.

A shortage of capital is a barrier to the expansion of the government's free schools programme, and private investment would provide an injection of cash for new school buildings. At present, while both academies and free schools are run independently, they are classed as public bodies and their surpluses cannot go to shareholders.

At the inquiry, Gove was questioned about a News International proposal to create an academy school in east London, which fell through because the Department for Education could not afford to pay for a new building.

Gove said: "We took a decision to stand back and say we cannot provide the capital."

In email exchanges published by the inquiry, a senior DfE official told News International there is no funding for a new building because of the "very tight" spending review.

Gove said on Tuesday that the publisher of the Sun and the Times was also interested in creating a second school in west London. "I understand … that they had wanted to set up one school in the East End in order to ensure that their sense of corporate social responsibility was fulfilled. There was some talk at one point that another might be located in west London but that was the limit of their ambition."

Gove said he believed Rupert Murdoch was only interested in opening a free school for "purely philanthropic" reasons. In his evidence, the education secretary said he knew nothing about News Corporation's educational subsidiary, Wireless Generation, until he "read about it in the Guardian". The company specialises in education software to help teachers analyse pupils' performance.

Gove said that he was aware Murdoch and others had an interest in the way technology would change education.

There was a hint Gove planned to make this announcement on Tuesday; his special adviser Henry de Zoete was present in a annex for the press at the inquiry and encouraged reporting of the comments.

Kevin Courtney, deputy general secretary of the National Union of Teachers, said: "It is well known that in Sweden one of the major ways in which schools make profits is by employing non-qualified staff to do the jobs of teachers. Michael Gove has already made it within the law that free schools are not required to employ qualified teachers.

"The free schools policy is a licence for the private sector to make money and is not in the interest of children, families or the taxpayer."
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I thought I couldn't hate Michael Gove any more than I did previously, then a suggestion such as this comes along; it truly sickens me to imagine an institution such as the state education system being run as a business. Before I get the usual 'commie' retorts from certain people, I'm not 'anti-business'. A state school however is not a business, and I am not at all comfortable with what Gove says here. Of course, running a school well and efficiently is a very important goal, but for businesses to come in and cream off profits from what is an essential public service is a real sickener for me. If a school is to operate at a surplus, rather than see the money vanish into the back pockets of shareholders, businessmen or whoever, the money should be reinvested into the school and increase the standards of education. Allowing it to be creamed off will only result in a drop in standards by way of a race to the bottom in terms of cost-cutting to the detriment of the students' education.

By way of a pre-emptive strike, I am aware of the private education system, but the model is entirely different in that the money is obviously derived from parents rather than the state. Allowing state schools to make profit would be a waste of taxpayers money which would undoubtedly be better spent elsewhere.
 
He is a nob.
He has sent a bible to every school in the country with a message inside saying something like a gift from the education secretary. What a waste of money!
 
I would charge at least £1 for giving 20 out of 20 in spellings or mental maths tests. Even the primary school kids get pocket money you know. It's a wide open field for a budding entrepreneur - come on, get with the modern ethos you naysayers.
 
117 M34 said:
He is a nob.
He has sent a bible to every school in the country with a message inside saying something like a gift from the education secretary. What a waste of money!
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What a waste of DNA more like.
 
mentioning philanthropy and murdoch in the same sentence should be enough to end his political career. He is neither stupid nor an idiot, just a fully paid up thatcherite, though even she kept her close links to news corps private, unlike gove who has just given a glowing account of how wonderful murdoch is as a boss and a man.(ffs)
Another deep crack in the coalition, another humiliation for the lib-dems, another step toward the inevitable vote of no confidence. Tick tock
 
Skashion said:
117 M34 said:
He is a nob.
He has sent a bible to every school in the country with a message inside saying something like a gift from the education secretary. What a waste of money!
Click to expand...
Providing extra resources for RE? Maybe he's not so bad afterall.
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A life size cross and some nails for the head of any school deemed to be, 'failing.'
 
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