The report states: “The commissioner has found that the appointments to the board of the OfS followed an inconsistent approach in one crucial respect: there was a clear disparity in the level of due diligence performed between different types of candidates.”
Gyimah also defended the involvement of No 10’s special advisers, who were revealed by the commissioner’s report to have contacted ministers with the results of their own research against three candidates.
“Ministers make a judgment call, especially in decisions around recruitment, and the judgment call here – after having considered the advice from the advisory panel that had looked at the candidates and all the information – the view was that none of the three students representatives that were put forward were suitable,” he said.
A spokesperson for the OfS said: “Appointments to the OfS board are a matter for the secretary of state for education. Whilst the appointment panel chaired by Sir Michael Barber made recommendations as to who to appoint, decisions were made by the secretary of state.”
The report by peter Riddell, the commissioner for public appointments, concluded that the Department for Education had made “avoidable mistakes” in rejecting the student representatives by “invoking a ‘catch-all’ generalised objection based on political views”.
Sally Hunt, the general secretary of the University and College Union, said: “The new body was launched with much fanfare about representing students’ interests. The report suggests that so far it has gone out of its way to do the exact opposite.”
A spokesperson for the OfS said: “Appointments to the OfS board are a matter for the secretary of state for education. Whilst the appointment panel chaired by Sir Michael Barber made recommendations as to who to appoint, decisions were made by the secretary of state.”
原文地址：https://www.theguardian.com/education/2018/feb/27/toby-young-office-for-students-appointment-questionable-minister
