Friday, 12 October 2007

UK demand for education an opportunity for India

A recent BBC news item showed 'A' level students getting online tuition from tutors in India.

This is another step along the path of separating content away from actual teaching. Course content creation and planning is already a huge overhead in the UK, and the stress placed on teachers is still having a significant impact on teacher recruitment and retention.

It is lack of access to fully geared up and committed teachers which is driving UK students and parents abroad. The UK system is too rigid to allow talented individuals into the system on a mentoring basis, and the overheads are driving out those who originally had a calling for the profession.

It will be a brave government that takes the leap into fully outsourced course content and local teacher supervision. Perhaps, however, the UK descent down educational league tables may yet provide the stimulus government needs for a root and branch review and a radical new approach.

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