Headmasters have targets. One of the many targets is to minimise the number of pupils' unauthorised absences. This seems fairly desirable. The problem is that when there is a snowfall and public transport grinds to a halt, lots of pupils decide to give up the unequal struggle and simply not turn up at school. This causes a problem for the head teacher, since if only 25% of pupils are likely not to turn up for a day or three, the impact on unauthorised absences will be severe.
There is a solution to this problem, however: close the school. This eliminates all unauthorised absences during the period the school is closed and improves the stats enormously. Of course it does nothing to improve the quantity or quality of education delivered. The problem could be solved, I suppose, by having another target for minimising school closures.
The problem is that this approach leads to an exponential increase in targets which, inevitably, have less and less to do with the core objectives of the organisation. The alternative way of delivering education is simply to let anyone start a school and let pupils and parents decide which ones work best. This is an approach that politicians instinctively recoil against. Before you decide to agree with them, think about whether you are happier about the education received by you or your children and compare it with the transport experience you get from your car, or the entertainment experience you get from your TV, or the food experience you get from your supermarket.
