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Concerns exist around the amount of influence Pearson, being a commercial company, has on public education.[71] Other concerns are around tax avoidance, high value contracts, and in one instance, laying off teachers to offset the high costs of testing.[72] In 2017, more than six out of ten Pearson's shareholders voted against the chief executive's pay package of £1.5m after the company made a record loss.[73] Pearson US has been criticised for using offshore tax avoidance schemes involving a host of companies at a service address in Luxembourg.[74]
In the United Kingdom, Pearson owns Edexcel, an education and examination board.[75] Edexcel has produced qualifications which link to Pearson texts, although Edexcel also continues to endorse textbooks published by other companies.[28] Edexcel has also faced criticism over repeated leaks of exam material in consecutive years; police investigations into some of the incidents were referred to prosecutors.[76]
In June 2010, Pearson plc received notification that the Libyan Investment Authority (LIA) founded by Muammar Gaddafi's son Saif al-Islam Gaddafi as a sovereign fund, had acquired 24,431,000 shares within the company via Euroclear. On further investigation, Pearson said the LIA may have acquired an additional 2,141,179 shares, resulting in a total interest of 26,572,179 shares. At the time, this represented a major holding of 3.27% within the company and the investment was worth around £280 million.[77]