Commodity trading

It is a great shame that Jim O’Neill’s recent article, seemingly helpful to the UK and its universities, fails to acknowledge its own particular ideological stance (“Mind power: in BRICs and MINTs, education is fuel for growth”, Opinion, 5 December).

Championing the rather anti-intellectual approach illustrated by TeachFirst and its global equivalents commodifies education and privileges economic capital above the cultural capital won by learning driven by curiosity.

O’Neill is indeed correct in stating that the prize for “going global” is huge, but we have a choice between a cash-focused education system or one that seeks knowledge, learning and understanding.

Jonathan Parker
Bournemouth University