Education Secretary, Michael Gove vowed to make sure disruptive pupils in schools will be given an “unambiguous lesson in who’s boss”.
In a new fight to take back control in UK classrooms, Gove will loosen rules on the use of physical force by teachers and hike up penalties for parents allowing their children to bunk classes.
In a speech he made on Wednesday, Gove described an “educational underclass” over which adult authority must be restored.
He said that young people ignored boundaries and lacked respect for adult because of a “culture of dutiless rights”.
The Education Secretary said last month’s rioting showed an increasing divide between a “hard-working majority” and a “vicious, lawless, immoral minority.”
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He blamed current social problems in Britain on a lack of discipline at school and at home, and linked illiteracy, disruption, truancy, exclusion and crime.
Gove said he will also bring in new rights for teachers to restrain unruly pupils without having to record the incidents, increase numbers of male teachers to provide role models for children with absent fathers and give teachers the power to search kids for any items.
Staff accused of mistreating children will also be given anonymity to protect them against malicious allegations, heads will be given more power to expel pupils and teachers will no longer have to give parents 24 hours’ notice of detention.
Andy Burnham, Labour’s education spokesman, responded: “I don’t think it’s at all helpful for the Education Secretary to talk of an educational underclass.”
