Prince slammed as 'old-fashioned'
LONDON, England -- Prince Charles has been criticized by a top British official as being "old-fashioned and out of time" for his views on education.
Britain's education secretary issued the unusual rebuke of a royal in response to a memo from the prince complaining about a "child-centered system which admits no failure."
"To be quite frank I think he is very old-fashioned and out of time and he doesn't understand what is going on in the British education system at the moment," Charles Clarke told BBC radio on Thursday.
"I think that he should think carefully before intervening in that debate. That is what I really think."
Details of the prince's memo emerged on Wednesday during an employment tribunal, which is hearing a secretary's claim of sex discrimination and unfair dismissal against the prince's office.
In his memo, the prince complained: "What is wrong with people now? Why do they all seem to think they are qualified to do things far beyond their technical capabilities?
"This is to do with the learning culture in schools as a consequence of a child-centered system which admits no failure.
"People seem to think they can all be pop stars, high court judges, brilliant TV personalities or infinitely more competent heads of state without ever putting in the necessary work or having natural ability.
"This is the result of social utopianism which believes humanity can be genetically and socially engineered to contradict the lessons of history."
His remarks drew a stinging response from the education secretary.
"We can't all be born to be king but we can all have a position where we can really aspire for ourselves and for our families to do the very best they possibly can," Clarke said.
"I want to encourage that culture rather than the other way round."
Clarke said he believed that it was important that children were encouraged in their ambitions.
"Everybody has a field marshal's baton in their knapsack or however one likes to see it. I think that is the right way to go about it," he said.
It is highly unusual for government officials to be so outspoken about members of the royal family.
Clarke initially said he did not want to "tangle" with the prince during his appearance on BBC Radio 4's "Today" program.
 I think there has often been a very patronizing view, an old-fashioned view, that says that certain people cannot do certain things. 
-- Education Secretary Charles Clarke
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"I decided when I came on the program this morning that I would try and discipline myself about his remarks," Clarke told presenter John Humphrys before launching his attack on the prince.
Clarke acknowledged there needed to be a "frank assessment" of people's capabilities but said that it was wrong that the aspirations of large groups should simply be dismissed.
"I think that saying to people 'you can't do this, that or the other' is not the right way to do it," he said.
"The idea of some sweeping generalization about failure I think is very, very demeaning for very, very many people.
"When whole groups of people are dismissed as having no possibilities, no ambitions, nothing can be done with them, I think that is really damaging."
"I think there has often been a very patronizing view, an old-fashioned view, that says that certain people cannot do certain things," he said.
