Stranglehold of the rich is 'indefensible' (From The Argus)
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Michael Gove warns of unequal society at Brighton teachers' conference
4:17pm Friday 11th May 2012 in News
Private school graduates are still dominating positions of wealth and power in the UK’s “profoundly unequal” society, Michael Gove has warned at a teachers’ conference.
The Education Secretary raised concerns that parentage is still dictating a youngster’s progress, with poor children likely to stay poor while the rich remain rich.
This is “morally indefensible” and fails to make the most of the abilities of the nation’s children, he said.
In a speech to private school heads at Brighton College Mr Gove said: “It is remarkable how many positions of wealth, influence, celebrity and power in our society are held by individuals who were privately educated.”
The majority of Cabinet ministers and many of the shadow cabinet attended fee-paying schools, he said.
Private schools are also “handsomely represented” in the Supreme Court, the medical profession and the media.
And the stranglehold has not abated, Mr Gove suggested. Evidence shows that in sport there are many cricketers, rugby players and Olympians who were privately educated.
Mr Gove said he was not criticising private schools or individuals who have attended them.
But he added: “The sheer scale, the breadth and the depth, of private school dominance of our society points to a deep problem in our country – one we all acknowledge but have still failed to tackle with anything like the radicalism required.
“We live in a profoundly unequal society. More than almost any developed nation, ours is a country in which your parentage dictates your progress.
"Those who are born poor are more likely to stay poor and those who inherit privilege are more likely to pass on privilege in England than in any comparable country.
"For those of us who believe in social justice this stratification and segregation are morally indefensible.”
For more information about education in your area go to theargus.co.uk/localinfo
Comments(13)
RAS Putin
says...
5:35pm Fri 11 May 12
bogs
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6:56pm Fri 11 May 12
turtling.
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8:21pm Fri 11 May 12
NickBrt
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8:02am Sat 12 May 12
Morpheus
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9:33am Sat 12 May 12
Morpheus
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9:33am Sat 12 May 12
Cash Cow
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9:55am Sat 12 May 12
Busterblister
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11:56am Sat 12 May 12
sbiscorrupt wrote:You need to stick an asterisk on that £9k comment. There is loads of hysteria about it, but go away and do some research on how and when it's paid, and you'll see it's not such a big deal.
“We live in a profoundly unequal society. More than almost any developed nation, ours is a country in which your parentage dictates your progress.
"Those who are born poor are more likely to stay poor and those who inherit privilege are more likely to pass on privilege in England than in any comparable country".....
That'll be why it'll now cost £9k a year for the 'privilige' of a tertiary education he got for free, and why he's overseeing the privatisation of the rest of the education system via academisation!
Busterblister
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12:20pm Sat 12 May 12
RAS Putin wrote:How?
How curious, then, that Gove's government is doing its utmost to entrench and extend privilege.
george smith
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6:09pm Sat 12 May 12
Cash Cow wrote:The chinese value education, too many kids here don't give a monkeys, think they are going to win big brother or become a famous football player
"Those who are born poor are more likely to stay poor and those who inherit privilege are more likely to pass on privilege in England than in any comparable country" Nothing has changed for a thousand years then, apart from the fact majorities of kids at Brighton College and Roedean are Chinese. In my opinion the foriegn demand for a British education, which is still highly regarded around the world, is the real reason why tuition fees have rocketed. I wonder where Micheal Gove was educated, and what is he going to do about what he is "warning" us of? Bees have a class system, as do elephants, meerkats, lions, wild dogs and birds, hence the term "pecking order".
jeremy radvan
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9:29pm Sat 12 May 12
mimseycal
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6:28am Sun 13 May 12
sbiscorrupt says...
5:04pm Fri 11 May 12
"Those who are born poor are more likely to stay poor and those who inherit privilege are more likely to pass on privilege in England than in any comparable country".....
That'll be why it'll now cost £9k a year for the 'privilige' of a tertiary education he got for free, and why he's overseeing the privatisation of the rest of the education system via academisation!