Parents in the U.K. who wish to set up their own schools with taxpayer money—a flagship policy of the ruling coalition Conservative party—were invited to submit proposals starting today. The Department for Education is publishing application forms for groups interested in establishing what new education secretary Michael Gove has dubbed “free schools,” based on the model of similar programmes in Sweden and the U.S. His department said the schools would “give all children and parents the choice and access to the kind of education only the rich can afford—small schools with small class sizes, great teaching and strong discipline.” The plan is part of an overhaul of education policy ushered in by the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition following the Labour government’s election defeat in May.Source: Gulf News