Anthony Seldon’s Real Agenda
Education Business, In The News, Media Watch, Politics Sunday, February 14th, 2010
Today’s Observer includes an article attacking the state of the UK education system.
It is written by Anthony Seldon, master of Wellington College. Typically, the current system is said to be ‘in crisis’ and urgent reform is required for the apocalypse to be avoided. It is an indication of how powerful such Establishment figures remain in the UK today that they still monopolise debate – we can not imagine a state school principal with the ability to occupy newspaper space in the same way. It is also sickening that a newspaper that is said to represent the views of NuLab gives space to this man.
Seldon has no right to pass comment on the state education system in the UK. His school is a private one. It is not subject to the same rules and demands of a local public school. He can comment as an ordinary member of Joe Public. So can we. But he is speaking as a businessman not as an educationalist with expertise in state school education.
In fact, with the number of pupils in the private sector plummeting in the UK it is likely that Seldon is fearful for the future of his brand of elitist schooling and is engaged in a rather predictable and somewhat sinister form of self-promotion i.e. create a crisis when there isn’t one and promote yourself as the saviour and maintain your USP.
Debate is welcome on education and nothing’s perfect. However, the current debate is still monopolised by those exploiting it for their ends – political and/or financial – who have no interest in this but their own. So it is true we need a new education debate, but we need another education debate that is genuine and open to all.
Couldn’t agree more. Somebody on Radio 4 the other day actually suggested that private education should be abolished, and despite my attachment to freedom of choice, I found myself wondering if they were right. However, at least in the UK the number of parents actually able to put their offspring through private schools is severely limited by the exorbitant cost. In France we are suffering from the (unfair) competition from private schools whose teachers are paid by the state, making private education much more affordable for everyone. This would be fine, except that private schools are not forced to play by the same rules since they don’t hang on to unruly pupils and can be selective about their intake. The French state system has it faults, but on the whole has held its head above water so far. The latest reform however, favours the creation of teaching posts in private schools while reducing them in the state schools. We doubtless have a lot more to fear from private education than you in the UK. Bon Courage!