I've made it clear in the past that Michael Gove to me is a perfect example of an absolute idiot with the Uni fees and the academy status (to name a few) and now he is beating out Labour peers from their posts with no reason and no warning? This man needs to leave politics and not come back.This man is reluctant to allow the working class to have an equal right to education as the middle and upper classes and so triples University fees causing current students to be in debt until their 40. On top of this he enforces the Tory philosophy "If you're not a striver, you're a skiver." into compulsory education by making exams harder and harder for less able students to succeed. Somehow the man thinks these ridiculous changes will somehow raise the standard of the U.K's economy.
Some people may say that these proposals are a good idea and that we just have to wait and see yet almost 3/4 of the way through the Conservatives' term we have fallen out of the Pisa Top 20 and are now ranked at 26th place overall. To top this, Scotland (which is run by a separate government) are currently top in the U.K for the survey which tests 15 year old students on their maths, science and reading skills. Regardless, Mr Gove still insists that his new oppressive system which is pushing teachers out of their profession is exactly what the country needs.
It came to light over the weekend that Sally Morgan, OFSTED chair and Labour peer, had been sacked in order to, in Gove's words, "bring a fresh perspective" and insisted on the Andrew Marr show that it had nothing to do with the fact that she leaned towards the left and was a woman. Morgan and Shadow Deputy Prime Minister Harriet Harman seem to disagree. Morgan said in a Radio 4 interview that "I am the latest of a fairly long list of people now who are non-Conservative supporters who are not being re-appointed." which shows that Gove has an agenda to fulfil over the next year and a half to make weaken Labour's influence in organisations such as OFSTED. Harman stood up to Gove on the Andrew Marr show and asked why so many female's post were being replaced by men also saying "It's like raining men in the Tory party!" she continued to question Gove and asked "What is your problem in government with women?". I agree with her, apart from Nadine Dorries and Theresa May I wouldn't be able to name a recent female Conservative MP off the top of my head.
As much as I sympathise with Sally Morgan, OFSTED aren't in my good books either. They to me are a spineless organisation that seem too scared to stand up for what education is really about and go along with Gove's 'children are numbers' strategy to reforming the British education system. They do not motivate schools, they push them down and create tension in the work place and between the school and its peers. Yes, of course if a school need to improve, it needs to improve but the fact that some inspectors observe lessons and then don't give the teacher feedback afterwards (I am saying this from experience) renders the whole operation as a complete waste of time.
Maybe OFSTED does need a fresher outlook and maybe teacher need to improve standards because obviously schools in the U.K are not doing as well as they should be, as Mikey has told us that enough times, but how long can he put the blame on other people? The facts are simple: since the Conservatives came into power, standards in education have gone down and who is meant to be in charge of education? Yes, Michael Gove.
Sources:
Sally Morgan's radio interview - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-25997102
Gove on Andrew Marr - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-26005917
2013 Pisa results - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-25187997
Harriet Harman on Gove - http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2014/02/02/harriet-harman-mocks-gove_n_4711813.html?utm_hp_ref=uk
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