Doug McAvoy, NUT leader who foresee 'nightmare prospect' for education, died in early May

Janet Downs's picture
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Doug McAvoy NUT general secretary from 1989 to 2004, died on May 12, aged 80.

The Times obituary, published today, describes him as a ‘tough, canny negotiator who was afraid of nobody and gave no quarter.’

Initially supportive of New Labour, his ‘high hopes’ soured when it supported performance-related pay, naming and shaming of allegedly underperforming schools and the ‘commodification’ of education.

The school of the future will be franchised, branded and sponsored…it is a nightmare prospect. To New Labour it represents progress, modernisation and the future.

What New Labour began, the Tories continued with zealous enthusiasm.  What are multi-academy trusts but franchises with their own brands and corporate identities?

The future is here.

 

CORRECTION: The original article mixed up Fred Jarvis with Doug McAvoy.  I need to lie down.

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