Tesco boss raps school standards
October 14, 2009
Standards in many state schools are "woefully low" and employers must "pick up the pieces", the boss of the UK's biggest supermarket chain has said.
Tesco chief executive Sir Terry Leahy, who is also an education adviser to the prime minister, said his company was particularly concerned about education.
"As the largest private employer in the country, we depend on high standards in our schools," he said.
The government commented that secondary school standards had never been higher.
"Sadly, despite all the money that has been spent, standards are still woefully low in too many schools," Sir Terry told the Institute of Grocery Distribution's annual conference.
"Employers like us, and I suspect many of you, are often left to pick up the pieces.
"From my perspective there are too many agencies and bodies, often issuing reams of instructions to teachers, who then get distracted from the task at hand: teaching children."
But the government denied that this was the case.
"Standards have never been higher in our secondary schools. The vast majority of people working in education are on the front line, teaching in our schools," a spokesman for the Department for Children, Schools and Families said.
"There are several non-departmental bodies, but it's clearly right and proper that issues such as exam standards are regulated by an independent body."
Sir Terry's views were echoed by John Cridland, director general of the CBI, who said the Tesco chief's concerns were "shared by a wide range of the business community".
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