It looks like Michael Gove is sinking without trace.

It looks like the UK Coalition Government's schools minister Michael Gove is sinking without trace. His "free schools" policy seems to be hitting the buffers while each major decision has to be followed by a U-turn. I have to accept that it is not easy stepping up from a job of newspaper columnist to running a major government department and certainly not easy dealing with the educational establishment in England. Apparently, Mr Gove is a good friend of Prime Minister David Cameron, but perhaps that will not save him from the axe.

I don't think the Department of Education expected to clamp down on the possible teaching of creationism by potential free schools and it is difficult to argue against the assertion from "Labour at the Chalkface" that Gove is incompetent.

The wheels are already falling off the coalition's policy for universities.

The wheels are already falling off the coalition government's policy for English universities. I don't think the powers-that-be expected universities such as Exeter,
Manchester and Essex to start charging £9000 a year. We can thank two brain
David Willetts for that.
Last week's Sunday Times was a bit depressing. James Dyson said it was madness educating our competitors and complained that some Chinese students were spies while there was a story that Oxford University was not taking cheating and plagiarism seriously.

I went to a polytechnic and we had quite a few lessons during the week and we were expected to go them. The common refrain from students is that they have acres of free time and the experience is not quite as portrayed in the prospectus. I do feel sorry for university lecturers trying to teach the increase in student numbers and do research. However, it was unfair for some lecturers to go on strike recently in defence of their pensions. That is an issue, which should be negotiated.

I was impressed by Jack Wilshere last Saturday.

I was impressed by Jack Wilshere playing for England v Wales last Saturday. Perhaps it represents a change of policy for his Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger to try and develop local talent. I read in the Sunday Times that Arsenal is the team, which has employed the most foreigners in the last few years and Arsene always complains about the alleged rough-house tactics of lesser teams such as Stoke, something never stated by Man Utd's Fergie, who usually treats the opposition with
respect. However, Arsenal have a good chance of winning the league this year and it will be interesting to see if they take it.

It must be hard for Wilshere playing with the least-talented Brazilian (Denilson) in the Premier League, although there are reports that a host of Brazilian youngsters will be joining Man Utd soon like Fabio and Rafael with the scam of getting Portuguese passports. Personally, I don't think Fabio and Rafael will make it as full backs since they are too small and you just lob the ball over their heads. Denilson is apparently a home-grown player but if that is true I am a banana.