E

Sastry and Bahram Bekhradnia is from the Higher Education Policy Institute.

● THE NON-COURSES REPORT 2007 lists around 400 ‘ mickey mouse ’ higher education courses offered by 90 UK colleges and universities, giving students and taxpayers the illusion rather than the reality of education. 6 Useful websites include the following. They are given in alphabetical order. ● Aimhigher www.aimhigher.ac.uk/ ● CEM Centre www.cemcentre.org/ ● Directgov www.direct.gov.uk/EducationAndLearning/fs/en ● World University Rankings www.thes.co.uk/worldrankings/

See also: Aimhigher; Office for Standards in Education; and Qualifications and Curriculum Authority ;

Education: voucher 1 Sweden has had a voucher system since 1992. Any group of qualified systems teachers can set up a school if they can meet certain minimum standards and

can show that there is a demand. Unlike Britain’s approximately 50 City Academies these schools, of which there are now around 900, (a) did not first have to find a sponsor willing to put up £2 million; (b) are not restricted to certain ‘ deprived ’ areas; and (c) do not mainly replace existing schools. The state pays such schools the average cost of educating a child in the local state school (around £5 000) per enrolled pupil, and schools must accept applicants on a first-come first-served basis, with no power to select pupils. The voucher cannot be ‘ topped up ’ , i.e. schools cannot charge any additional fees. 2 Roughly similar systems now also operate in Denmark and the Netherlands, are well-established in Milwaukee in the USA, and are being experimented with elsewhere in the USA (the so-called ‘ charter schools ’ ) and in Canada. 3 The magic ingredient in all cases is parents ’ right to take their financial entitlement to any school they wish. That right is guaranteed in the Netherlands (where two thirds of schools are funded by the state but run privately), Sweden, and Denmark. It is not only a democratic entitlement, but has proven to be a powerful weapon for encouraging good schools and eliminating bad ones. 4 As of 2007, useful websites include the following. ● Reform www.reform.co.uk/website/education.aspx ● Specialist Schools Trust www.specialistschoolstrust.org.uk/ ● Sutton Trust www.suttontrust.com/

See also: Social mobility .