Gove accuses teaching unions of ‘bigotry’ over low expectations

MICHAEL Gove has launched an attack on the teaching unions as he condemned what he called the “bigotry” of low expectations in the education system.

The two largest teaching unions, the NUT and NASUWT, have mounted a campaign of industrial action over issues including pay, pensions and workload.

Education Secretary Mr Gove warned yesterday that their actions would “hold back our children”.

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In his speech to the Conservative Party conference, Mr Gove also criticised union general secretaries who he said had asked him not to single out high-achieving schools for praise because it would make others feel “uncomfortable”.

Mr Gove said: “What I feel uncomfortable about is the soft bigotry of low expectations that lead so many to believe that some people can’t be as good as the rest.”

Mr Gove said he viewed teaching as the “noblest profession, the highest calling” but added: “At the moment the general secretaries of some of their unions are making it very difficult. The general secretaries are ordering – ordering – their members not to cover classes where another teacher might be ill or away at a relative’s funeral.” His speech came as a new poll found that less than one in four teachers are in favour of the Government’s plans to scrap GCSEs and replace them with a new English Baccalaureate Certificate.

It also reveals that many teachers do not think qualifications should be tested simply through a final exam. Instead, the majority believe students should sit a mix of exams and coursework conducted under strict supervision.

The YouGov survey questioned almost 1,000 UK teachers about the proposals to reform the exams system in England.