10/06/2008
George Galloway today condemned the threat to close some 650 schools which the government claims are "failing".

"This really is a disgrace," said Galloway. "Many of these schools are in areas of multiple deprivation. What they need is investment, not closure. Closing them will lead to all the good work the hard-pressed teachers in those schools have done being destroyed. The threat of closure itself will increase stress massively and lead to demoralisation.

"And what does the government propose to do if it closes them. Hand over hundreds of millions of pounds to big business to set up so-called Academies. Why can't they put that money in now directly to schools with less good exam results."

George Galloway was joined in his condemnation by Tower Hamlets council Respect group leader Abjol Miah. "This is another stupid proposal from this government which seems to have completely lost the plot," said Abjol Miah today.

"Government policy has produced probably the worst housing crisis, certainly in living memory, here in Tower Hamlets. There has been no investment in council housing and the only solution the government has to the 23,000 families on the waiting list and the 12,000 families in ovecrowded housing is to hand over council housing to the private sector.

"Now Ed Balls is proposing the same disastrous policy for schools catering for the most deprived areas on the country. No wonder working people are turning their backs on New Labour in droves. It's time to call an end to this madness."

Respect member and Rochdale NUT President Derek Fraser adds:

"The latest rant by Ed Balls about 'underperfroming schools' will make the blood of most teachers boil. He has said that schools which fail to hit the magic figure of 30% of pupils getting 5 A-C GCSE's will either be taken over by a 'successful school' or shut and opened as an Academy.

"The fact that schools who are the target of these measures are all in deprived working class areas should really give Mr Balls a clue to some of the real issues at play - poverty, lack of job opportunities, lack of any youth provision, etc. But to look at these systematic problems would mean admitting that more children are now in poverty than when Labour came to power.

"Teachers are beginning to take the sort of action which will really defend quality education and in September we will see more strikes over pay and much more, attempting to defend comprehensive education for our kids and quality provision, especially in deprived areas.

"I really hope that everyone who supports teachers in our battle to defend education, wants to stop the government letting businesses take over our schools and is sick of a targets-obsessed culture (which means some schools manipulate figures to suit their ends) will support teachers on when we next strike - and then we can all start to have a sensible conversation about what our children want to learn and how best to deliver it."