Australia studies Britain's lead on sponsorship in charter schools

Australia could follow Britain and establish 'charter schools' that offer public education while being run as private businesses with corporate sponsors.

Federal Education Minister Julie Bishop has called for stronger links between business and the nation's schools, saying corporate sponsorship of public schools would improve the employability of school leavers.

But her plan attracted an angry reaction from the Australian Education Union, which warned it could lead to schools churning out students with skills 'set for a life in McDonald's'.

Launching a new business-schools forum in Canberra, Ms Bishop said that if schools and business 'engaged more deeply, then we would see some significant changes in the way that our education systems work.' She said businesses could have a role in determining what was taught in both public and private schools.

Ms Bishop said there was great potential for even greater integration between schools and business that would enhance student learning and their employability skills.

'Can any government seriously keep up with the pace of technological change or move quickly enough to resource every school in the country with the latest technological advances?' she said.