Parents to hire private firms to run schools under Tories [Guardian.co.uk]
- Published: 08 October 2009
A Conservative government would encourage companies to run state schools for profit, it emerged today, as David Cameron promised to deliver radical change to take schools away from government interference.
Saying he wanted to give every child the kind of education their parents would expect from a private school, Cameron argued that "discipline, setting by ability and regular sport" prevalent in the private sector would flourish in state schools once they were freed from government controls by the Conservatives, forcing headteachers to respond to parental demands.
But it emerged that under the reforms, based on the Swedish system of "free" schools, governing bodies could contract out the operation of the school - including teaching - to a private company and that the company would be allowed to charge a "management fee".
Full Story: http://www.guardian.co.uk
