From the Times Higher Education supplement:
No one is suggesting that Sir Michael or Sands put the interests of their employer, or former employer, first. But the Browne Review does symbolise and sanction an insidious aspect of the wider privatisation process, which brings into education-policy formation management consultancies whose policy fixes, although discussed as “improvements” to schools and universities, effectively entrench their influence. The more the state sector is modelled on or interacts with the private sector, the greater the perceived imperative for policymakers to turn to such organisations for advice.
The Browne proposals will accelerate the trend towards a public-private divide in higher education similar to the one in secondary schooling. In the process, they will widen the crack through which management consultancies may enter, enabling them to strengthen their foothold in education provision, and expanding the zone of unaccountability at the heart of the state.