Letter: Market forces

Jonathan Rutherford's comments on the increasing marketisation of education and the tension between the "goods and services" offered ("Let the corporate class commence", THES , July 13) should recognise that markets seek to promote dependence on the part of consumers while education seeks to encourage independence and autonomy. Markets work best when access to knowledge and information is controlled and difficult questions suppressed - exactly the reverse of what education ought to pursue.

Ian Frowe
Homerton College
Cambridge