Failing schools "should be closed"

By Staff
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Google Oneindia News

LONDON, Oct 7 (Reuters) Tens of thousands of children go to failing schools which should be closed because they are so poor, a senior government adviser said.

Cyril Taylor, head of the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust, a government-funded body, said the quality of education varies wildly across the country.

The system is unfair because richer families can move to an area with better schools, he said.

''There are these 80,000 going to schools that are underperforming, and some very badly underperforming,'' Taylor told the BBC in an interview. ''They vary so much. Some are so bad they ought to be shut down quickly and some are struggling and need help.'' Bad GCSE results suggest about 500 schools are seriously underperforming, he added.

Taylor said it was wrong that wealthy parents can get their children into better schools by moving house. The admissions' process should ''not be about the size of your mortgage'', he told the BBC.

Prime Minister Tony Blair says his flagship school reforms have led to better exam results, more teachers and new buildings.

But Labour critics say his move to give head teachers and parents more autonomy through independent ''trust'' schools undermines his party's basic principles.

Transferring power from local authorities could lead to a two-tier system that would exclude disadvantaged children from the best schools, they say.

REUTERS PDM PM1356

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