How business exploits education then pretends to be part of the solution

The Quality Public Education Coalition (QPEC) holds a forum on “the business of education” or “how business exploits education then pretends to be part of the solution.” Darren Powell of the Faculty of Education and Social Work at the University of Auckland conducts a seminar on “Education for $ale,” which focused on “a particular type of GERM ‘invading’ schools all over Aotearoa New Zealand: outsourcing. In contemporary times, teachers and principals are encouraged to choose from an ever-increasing range of programmes provided by corporations (e.g. McDonald’s) and industry groups (e.g. Seafood New Zealand), as well as charities and other ‘not-for-profit’ organizations, such as ‘pokie’ trusts. However, unlike more obvious forms of GERM, such as charter schools, outsourcing teaching and curriculum acts as a form of ‘hidden privatization’ that carries with it a number of hidden dangers.”