Lack of education is a practical problem and has been grossly exarcebated by the Stalinist egalitarianism exemplified by the spirit of ‘closing every ******* grammar school’. There was a problem then and the 11+ was crude but instead of an attempt to address that problem we had a whole new ideological framework imposed on education.

I heard Fiona someone or other who is the partner of Alistair someone or other, both important in New Labour, on the Home program yesterday saying how governement needs to control schools so they don’t select. This is a woman who is clearly not worried about intellectually inclined children not being able to study Paradise Lost or practically minded children not being able to become plumbers. As long as they all get the same non-intellectually challenging, practically useless pap then the plan has been achieved.

Anyway I suspect that the school with the super duper wipeboards (I’ve used them – they are rubbish!) is more intent of ticking some boxes about having the latest IT rather than achieving education. That doesn’t seem like autonomy. Autonomy would be if they were allowed to pursue their primary purpose which is, ideally, to provide a suitable education to each child which meets their abilities and needs within the context of the wider society. It is not to provide the same ‘education’ to each child in order to make them model citizens of an rabidly egalitarian society.

For that good head teachers, not apparatchik bean counters are needed. Who would be a head teacher now? And boards of governors who manage to get their heads out of the Guardian from time to time and look at what’s really going on. A governor at a local school was bemoaning the fact that there were no Asians on the board. I enquired how many had stood for election and the answer was none. My friend seemed to think this was (a) due to racism on the part of white parents and (b) one of the most important issues facing the governors. I begged to disagree on both counts.

And next time Boris sees Charles Clarke he can tell him from me, a technologist, that I think medieval history is just as important as computing or plaumbing and all three are infinitely more important that media studies. (I know he’s doing a different job now but Big Ears put up my blood pressure with that remark!).

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This has nothing to do with technology but plenty to do with fundraising. Although if Paul Goggins had a blog, I’d be pinging the hell out of him right now. Perhaps some of his Westminster colleagues will pass the message

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