by Nick Wright

The secretary of state foreducation thinks that ahundred university education

professors make their criticism of hiscurriculum policies from a 'classicallymarxist perspective”.

At the height of the Cold War the USsecretary of fefence, William Forrestal,defenestrated himself after going nuts in fearof communism. We must worry that MrBlobby is having the same effect on Mr. Gove.

The state education system goes back tothe 1870 Elementary Education Act thatturned the patchwork of voluntary, charityand church schools into a national system.

The act was the idea of Liberal MP WilliamForster and put into practice an idea byFrederick Engels: “... the general education ofall children without exception at the expenseof the state, an education which is equal forall and continues until the individual is capableof emerging as an independent member ofsociety. This measure would be only an act ofjustice to our destitute fellow creatures, for

clearly, every man has the right to the fulldevelopment of his abilities and societywrongs individuals twice over when it makesignorance a necessary consequence ofpoverty.”

Sensible employers and capitalists backedthe idea although they may not have beenvery happy with the further thoughts ofEngels': “It is obvious that society gains morefrom educated than from ignorant, unculturedmembers, and while, as may be well expected, an educated proletariat will not be

continued on back page

Unity!www.communist-party.org.uk Easter 2013

A spectre is haunting Mr Gove

by Anita Wright

There is no doubt that DavidCameron and George Osborneare determined to stick to

their austerity programme. Like theWizard of Oz, they have conjured upan illusion. They have used the mediato persuade ordinary working peopleand their families that thegovernment's economic policy isnecessary for the good of the country,

They've tried to liken their strategy to afamily that's got to learn to live within itsbudget, or that of a firm but well-meaningfather offering tough love to his children. Butif we pull back the magician's curtain we cansee their real intention - to maximise profit inthe hands of Cameron and his capitalistfriends.

To achieve this end it is vital to push downwages by structurally embeddingunemployment in our economic system,forcing workers to accept poor pay, wagefreezes and part-time work.

With the loss of over 250,000 public-sectorjobs since 2010 - 30,000 jobs in the NHS and71,000 in education for starters - and womenconstituting 65 per cent of public-sectorworkers we know that women have beenseverely hit by this strategy as workers, carersand service users.

The private sector has not faired any better,with a dramatic drop in manufacturingcontributing to an expected triple-diprecession. It's estimated that 40 per cent ofhigh street shops will close in the next fiveyears.

The government's policies - unfetteredfreedom for big business and financialinstitutions, which can rely on state bailouts,while pursuing ruthless privatisation of allsocial aspects of the state such as the NHS -are creating long-term economic chaos.There is no investment in the building ormanufacturing industries.

The bankers are still getting their bonuses

and the profits of the energy companies aresoaring. But at the same time 30 per cent ofBritish children are living in poverty andordinary families are struggling with rent risesand housing benefit cuts.

The gap between rich and poor in thiscountry is widening at a disgusting pace. Salesof houses worth £1 million or more rose by118 per cent in the last year.

The Cameron-Osborne economic strategyis underpinned by an ideological attack onworking-class people in general and womenin particular.

Despite public statements about equality,Tory hardliners show their real reactionaryattitude towards women when talking aboutfamily life and abortion rights.

The subtext of Tory policy is that womenare to blame - we should be at home with thechildren.

This was illustrated clearly during the civilunrest in 2011, when riots exploded aroundthe country following the police shooting ofMark Duggan. This triggered the old debate

about single-parent families and the role ofschools in developing children's sense of rightand wrong.

Given that 90 per cent of lone parents arewomen, and the majority of teachers arewomen, it implies that we, not society as awhole, have failed to educate our youth.

The subtext of Tory policy is that women are to blame –

we should be at home with the children.

It also gave Cameron another opportunityto spout his disingenuous drivel about brokenBritain without a hint of irony. That he is thechief cause of this destruction - havingscrapped the education maintenanceallowance and standing by while youthunemployment rises to over 21 per cent for16-24 year olds - was not mentioned.

Our demand for decent, affordablechildcare is also seen as a refusal to know ourplace. Despite some tax-credit subsidies forworking parents, childcare costs are rising at

It is women who are the blame for the eff

this capitalist cr for coalition

twice the rate of inflation.A part-time nursery place now averages

£106 a week for a child under two years oldand £104 a week for older children - a rise of4.2 per cent and 6.6 per cent respectively inthe last year. With job shortages, low wagesand pay freezes this is making it unaffordablefor many women to work.

The Tory attitude towards women is alsoevident in the debate about a woman's rightto choose.

Recognising that an all-out ban on abortionis not going to get through Parliament, manyattempts have been made to reduce the timelimit for abortion and strip terminationproviders of their counselling role.

Cameron has said he is sympathetic tothese views while simultaneously criticisingwomen who have children they can't afford.This has given the green light to the extra-parliamentary campaign of anti-abortiongroups like 40 Days for Life to intimidatewomen outside clinics while remaining silenton the tragic death of Savita Halappanavar inBelfast, who was denied a life savingabortion.

This ideological attack is an attempt todivide working-class men from women andweaken the opposition to austerity policies.

The fundamental problem is that thisgovernment and the capitalist class object toour aspirations - equal pay for jobs of equalworth, affordable childcare, decent housing,free health care, reproductive rights, freedomfrom violence and - horror of all horrors -equal representation in the corridors ofpower. In fact, all the demands laid out in theCharter for Women.

This is why the trade union and widerlabour movement must ensure that thesedemands are not simply an add-on butbecome integral to the fight for a progressiveand social just society.

Anita Wright is secretary of the nationalAssembly of Women

by Gawain Little

One month ago, the Department forCommunities and Local Governmentreleased a paper entitled 'TaxpayerFunding of Trades Unions'.

It claimed: “For too long in the publicsector, trade unions have received taxpayerfunding that is poor value for money andinadequately controlled. Reducing such publicsubsidies to trade unions is a practical waythat councils can save money... Trade unionactivities and campaigning in local councilsshould be funded by members’ subscriptions,not bankrolled by the taxpayer.”

The paper was a follow-up to a previousrecommendation to councils to “scrap tradeunion posts” (50 Ways to Save, December2012). This is part of an ongoing drive by thegovernment to present trades unions as adrain on the economy, the enemies ofprogress, and to distance us from our ownmembers and potential members.

Of course the reality is really very different.Trades unions save considerably more moneythan the cost of facilities time and there is alot of evidence to show the importance oftheir role in resolving disputes and ensuringthat inequality does not go unchallenged.

But of course what is actually wrong is thepremise of the debate. Trade unionrepresentation should not be judged on thebasis of how much money it saves theemployer, or how much it helps them avoidcostly tribunals. Trade union representation isa fundamental right, fought for and won byworking people. And now that fundamentalright is coming under attack, we need to fightagain to retain it.

The key question for us is how that fight ismost effectively conducted.

When trades unions win victories for theirmembers, they win for all workers, regardlessof their union membership. When teacherunions win for their members, they also winfor children and for local communities.

We must make all those who benefit from

trade union activities our allies in the struggleto retain trade union rights.

We must also build our own strength toresist these attacks, and that means highly-unionised workforce, united behind a singlebanner, with a voice in every classroom.

Key to this will be the extent to which wecan unite the existing teacher and lecturerunions into a single teaching union,representing all those employed as teachers inschools in England and Wales. Talking aboutProfessional Unity is no longer enough. Wemust take concrete steps to create it.

This means a grassroots organising agendato develop strong school groups with well-trained elected school representatives,capable of collectively defending their termsand conditions and of rooting the Union'snational campaigns in local experience.

We cannot accept the dangerous cynicismwhich suggests that this is not possible or thatit should not be pursued. The key strength ofteacher unionism is its membership. Ourmembers are the source of our strength andit is they who should control it. To suggestthat they cannot, or should not, organisecollectively to wield that strength is theantithesis of trades unionism.

Finally, we must not accept that the battle isover before it has begun. It would be a hugetactical mistake for our unions to take on theemployer's responsibility for paid release time.This is what, in effect, we would be doing ifwe agree to pay the salaries of local officers.

Rather, we should re-affirm theresponsibility of every employer to releaserecognised trades union representatives tocarry out their duties.

Our members have a right to trade unionrepresentation. It is a right fought for bygenerations of working people before us. Wemust not allow this government to take itfrom us by any means.

Gawain Little is secretary of Oxfordshire NUTand a member of the NUT national executive

getting ffects of

risis and policies

ORGANISING

by Robert Wilkinson

Teachers, in our daily task ofeducation, recognise the profoundinfluence that home circumstanceshave upon the chances of success orfailure in achieving qualifications.

A famous German philosopher once saidthat ‘“Men make their own history, but theydo not make it just as they please; they donot make it under circumstances chosen bythemselves, but under circumstances directlyencountered, given and transmitted from thepast”.

There is no denying that a few individualsare able to overcome adverse circumstancesand achieve success. The Olympics gaveenough examples of that and the Paralympicseven more so. Yet it is a myth that everyindividual can go from rags to riches, fromobscurity to fame, purely by strength of willalone.

We have to recall the words of anotherfamous German philosopher who definedinsanity as "doing the same thing over andover again and expecting different results”.For many youngsters from disadvantagedbackgrounds, this unfortunately is theirexperience of the education system.

Teachers are aware that right from the firstday at school some pupils are betterprepared than others for what the schoolexpects of them. Education is a greatliberator, it can and does provideopportunities for some to overcome their

circumstances and secure upward socialmobility, but against the odds, swimmingagainst the stream.

The reality is that the education process, asit exists at present, actually reinforces socialdivision. The gap in attainment at the age of5 grows wider and wider at each Key Stage.The process of testing and assessment helpsto reinforce social deprivation.

Save the Children has a poster saying ‘ItShouldn’t Happen Here’. Child povertyshould not happen anywhere but it is truethat Britain is a wealthy country – wealthcreated by the skilled labour of previousgenerations of men and women. But thatwealth is being increasingly concentrated infewer and fewer hands. And the rest ofsociety robbed of its inheritance – the socialcapital that resides in our libraries, our NHS,our playing fields and our comprehensiveschools.

At the dawn of the Welfare State, WilliamBeveridge identified 5 social evils: ignorance,want, idleness, squalor and disease. Theelimination of these 5 Giants has now goneinto reverse. Now, according to DanielDorling, we have 5 principles of injustice:elitism is efficient, exclusion is necessary,prejudice is natural, greed is good anddespair is inevitable.

If we want to eliminate child poverty weneed to change the circumstances, ineducation and in the wider society.

Charity will not solve the problems of thepoor. It is time for real social justice.

United againstausterityEaster Mondayin the Novotel Hotel Liverpool at 7.30pm.

Speakers include:Hank Roberts Unify, EfL and ATL President -pers capsAlex Kenny NUT Exec and Peoples AssemblyRobert Wilkinson Communist Party education workers group

Chair: Dan Thompson Windsor & Maidenhead NUT

organised by Morning Star, Education for Tomorrow and the People’s Charter

Against the oddscontinued

disposed to remain in the oppressedcondition in which our present proletariatfinds itself, the calm and composurenecessary for the peaceful transformation ofsociety can also be expected only from aneducated working class.”

Coalition policy – academies and freeschools, centralising the inspection regimewhilst fragmenting of the school system,weakening the local authority role, cashincentives to academies and this latest bid toundermine nationally regulated pay andconditions –taken together would reversethe process begun in 1870.

It is intended to bring in a privatisededucation market. Michael Gove clothes hispolicies in touching concern for those mostdisadvantaged but the effect will be to makethings even more difficult for working classkids to get access to decent schooling whilstwidening opportunities for the relativelyprivileged to find a niche in an increasinglyselective education system.

Wide access to a broad education is acommon good that both benefits theindividual student and guarantees employersand state alike with the kind of skilledworkforce that a modern economy needs.Employers have a clear idea what kind ofeducated workers they need. They areusually keen for education and training coststo be borne by the state (or more accuratelythe taxpayer).

Michael Gove should pause in his headlongrush to replicate pre 1870 learning theoryand listen to the CBI when it says that“memorisation and recall are being valuedover understanding and inquiry” and that “wehave a conveyor-belt education system thattolerates a long tail of low performance andfails to stretch the able”.

Employers are driven by the need to findnew investment opportunities, to maintainand increase the rate of profit, to surviveagainst their competitors.

Since capital exists only to produce profitsit constantly seeks further investmentopportunities to put its newly generatedprofit to work and to maintain and increasethat rate of profit.

Gove is famously in touch with free marketthink tanks on the Tory right whose policywonkery drips with anticipation at the profitsto be made form privatising public services.

Only a Liberal Democrat in a hurry wouldbe taken in by the idea that Gove'sadolescent drive to find headlines during theeducation conference season is driven onlyby his bid to find favour with the people whowill elect the next Tory leader. Like hismillionaire Cabinet colleagues it is profitwhich fuels his dreams.

Nick Wright blogs at 21centurymanifesto