interestrateripoff Posted July 30, 2011 Share Posted July 30, 2011 http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2020409/Sir-Michael-Barber-paid-4-400-day-foreign-aid-advice.html A former aide to Tony Blair was paid an ‘obscene’ £5,505 a day to advise the Government on doling out its vast foreign aid budget.However the Department for International Development (DFID) has negotiated a discount with Sir Michael Barber, and he is now working for a bargain £4,404 a day. ........ Sir Michael was handed the deal 18 months ago as part of a wider contract with management consultants McKinsey. Originally McKinsey was planning to charge £7,340 a day for Sir Michael’s advice on improving Pakistan’s education system over 45 days, making a total of £330,300. Overall, four consultants were to be paid £910,000 for 250 days’ work, although this was reduced to £676,720 after the firm agreed a ‘social sector discount’, which took Sir Michael’s daily rate to £5,505. A fellow director was paid the same rate while two ‘senior consultants’ were paid £2,350 a day. Last night a DFID spokesman said the contract was continuing, although a further 20 per cent reduction was negotiated in April this year, cutting Sir Michael’s fee to £4,404 a day. At least we are hiring the best people possible to help reshape an education system we have no direct political control over. I wonder how many of these types of contracts exist in other areas, the govt is one huge gravy train. If you put in a request under FOI could you gain access to the work this person is doing so we can see what wonderful expert opinion we are getting for £4,404 a day! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
interestrateripoff Posted July 30, 2011 Author Share Posted July 30, 2011 Another reason to have some transparency and openess, but didnt Cameron annouce some things were going online so the public can pick over them and flag them up? He might have announced it, but that doesn't mean it will happen. He could just be following on from Labour making big announcements, nothing happens and then a few months later it becomes another big announcement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erranta Posted July 30, 2011 Share Posted July 30, 2011 (edited) http://www.dailymail...aid-advice.html At least we are hiring the best people possible to help reshape an education system we have no direct political control over. I wonder how many of these types of contracts exist in other areas, the govt is one huge gravy train. If you put in a request under FOI could you gain access to the work this person is doing so we can see what wonderful expert opinion we are getting for £4,404 a day! Let's see £5.00 p day av wage - thats 881 people's wage for a day I saw a youtube report that mentioned the Pakistan Govt blowing hundreds of thousands of pounds aid money installing new bus shelters with indoctrinal adverts. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Why Pakistan's primary school teachers lack motivation By YesPakistan.com Staff Writer There are many complaints about Pakistan's primary schools and the lack of quality education found in them. One of the main concerns is the lack of proper teaching and teacher motivation. This problem has and continues to lead to the erosion of standards in the nation's schools. In practical terms, a teacher's poor motivation translates into absenteeism, indifferent classroom practices and teachers leaving the profession. This high turnover in the profession is especially damaging for the whole system because the government's investment in teacher training is lost and replacing and training teachers who have left is another expense incurred. There are five reasons primary school teachers in Pakistan lack motivation. The first is an inadequate salary. In Pakistan, primary school teachers earn roughly between Rs 1,400 and Rs 2,860 ($32 to $65). This is less than what a cook, gardener or chauffeur often earns. Good pay is one incentive to encourage employees in any profession to work harder and in a more dedicated and enthusiastic manner. Financial security helps them concentrate on their jobs without worrying about how to make ends meet every month. Because many primary school teachers in Pakistan are forced to take on extra jobs to supplement their incomes, they are often absent from the classroom. Second, unlike medicine and engineering, teaching as a profession does not garner the status and respect the former two vocations do. In fact, the status of teachers, particularly male teachers, has suffered so severely that men who are part of Pakistan's "educated unemployed" (individuals with high qualifications but who remain unemployed) become teachers only as a last resort. Even in this case though, teaching is seen as a temporary job that will be left once a better opportunity comes along. Third, the horrible working conditions many teachers must endure further lessen their motivation. They discourage possible candidates from becoming teachers and often lead to incumbent teachers leaving the profession. According to the Human Development in South Asia's 1998 report, 70 per cent of the schools in Pakistan have no toilets, 68 percent no drinking water, 92 percent no playgrounds, 60 per cent no boundary walls and 16 percent are without a building. A delegation from the UK to Pakistan has also noted a lack of desks, books, blackboards, electricity, doors, and windows, not to mention the problem of overcrowded classrooms. And the phenomena of "ghost schools", institutions which receive government grants but do not exist, are now common knowledge. Fourth, there is little opportunity for career advancement in the teaching profession in Pakistan, especially for primary school teachers. The only one available to most teachers is to move into secondary school teaching. This however, has negative effects on the primary school system, since it is often the most motivated teachers who leave teaching primary school for secondary school. Finally, there is virtually no system of accountability for teachers. Teachers are often accountable to Pakistan's education department which is far from their teaching milieu. This means they can get away with absenteeism. There is no local authority to ensure that teachers attend classes and teach their students. Head teachers have little authority to censure teachers who do not turn up for work. Even parents have no way to endure proper teaching. It is clear that a formal strategy needs to be put in place to address teachers' needs while stressing and encouraging accountability and initiative. Otherwise, Pakistan's children in primary schools, especially in the rural areas, will continue to suffer from illiteracy and a lack of education, leading to little hope for their future or Pakistan's as a nation. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- So loads of illiterates end up as brainwashed cannon fodder for the Pakistani Army or falling prey to the alternative (terrorist) organisations or influence of exceptionally mad mullahs taking advantage of them? (Sounds like Tony Blair) What's the betting his expensive report never comes close to outlining the corruption of Pakistans elites who are ripping off the aid diverted from the UK's Poor to skool kids who don't exist? PS I bunged in an 88 with all your other matching numbers - make you feel at home. Edited July 30, 2011 by erranta Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rantnrave Posted July 30, 2011 Share Posted July 30, 2011 NGO I work for has set-up numerous schools in that past of the world. We could have provided advice and insight for a tiny fraction of that sum! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rantnrave Posted July 30, 2011 Share Posted July 30, 2011 Well they also released this yesterday. http://epetitions.di...v.uk/index.html 100,000 votes will get consideration for debating in the house which is a step further forward than Labour and a step closer to direct democracy imo. Off-topic - what could we get registered their that is pro HPC or at least gets the priced-out generation a mention? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aa3 Posted July 30, 2011 Share Posted July 30, 2011 I'm sure about 90% of the 'foreign' aid.. goes to wealthy white British people. Consulting, advising and work on behalf of those in need of course. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SarahBell Posted July 30, 2011 Share Posted July 30, 2011 Off-topic - what could we get registered their that is pro HPC or at least gets the priced-out generation a mention? I can be a management consultant for it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack's Creation Posted July 30, 2011 Share Posted July 30, 2011 I'm sure about 90% of the 'foreign' aid.. goes to wealthy white British people. Consulting, advising and work on behalf of those in need of course. If you are "sure", then I am certain you will be providing some evidence to back up the claim. Otherwise, I call bullsh¡t. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
interestrateripoff Posted July 30, 2011 Author Share Posted July 30, 2011 NGO I work for has set-up numerous schools in that past of the world. We could have provided advice and insight for a tiny fraction of that sum! Clearly you need to up your fees to get the job. You must be some micky mouse organisation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wonderpup Posted July 30, 2011 Share Posted July 30, 2011 If you are "sure", then I am certain you will be providing some evidence to back up the claim. Otherwise, I call bullsh¡t. My new local Oxfam store has been stylishly fitted out complete with corporate branding engraved on the window glass- between the post modern interior designer's fees and the CEO's lavish salary it's just as well the place is staffed by non paid volunteers. The big charities have lost the plot in my opinion, and- suffering from a bad case of 'corporation envy',- have decided to turn themselves into 'Brands'- it's only a matter of time before we see their top executives arriving at the latest theatre of human misery on board the company jet, nicely painted in the corporate colour scheme with the logo on the tailfin. People do not give Oxfam money so that they can engrave their logo on the windows of their bloody shops. :angry: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
longtomsilver Posted July 30, 2011 Share Posted July 30, 2011 My new local Oxfam store has been stylishly fitted out complete with corporate branding engraved on the window glass- between the post modern interior designer's fees and the CEO's lavish salary it's just as well the place is staffed by non paid volunteers. The big charities have lost the plot in my opinion, and- suffering from a bad case of 'corporation envy',- have decided to turn themselves into 'Brands'- it's only a matter of time before we see their top executives arriving at the latest theatre of human misery on board the company jet, nicely painted in the corporate colour scheme with the logo on the tailfin. People do not give Oxfam money so that they can engrave their logo on the windows of their bloody shops. :angry: My wife used to work in the pharmaceutical industry (vetinary products) and saw first hand how the 'charities' operated - one P*SA remunerated their top brass so well that they were only obligated to work two day weeks and that came with all the trappings of wealth including Italian cars in the parking lot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blod Posted July 30, 2011 Share Posted July 30, 2011 (edited) Another reason to have some transparency and openess, but didnt Cameron annouce some things were going online so the public can pick over them and flag them up? The way that Cameron has worked it is that he's lifted the veil from the Ministry's. However to actually find what you want requires a depth of knowledge that we that public haven't yet got. Edited July 30, 2011 by Blod Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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