The teachers unions at their most destructive

Joel: Easier to ax a killer than a teacher

It's easier to execute a killer than fire an incompetent teacher, former schools Chancellor Joel Klein said yesterday in an explosive interview.

"Five to 10 percent are not remotely capable," Klein said about educators in a sit-down with the Sunday Times of London. "It's easier to prosecute a capital-punishment case in the US than terminate an incompetent teacher."

Being an ocean away certainly loosened the lips of Klein, who made his strongest comments since stepping down in November.

Klein, who helmed city schools for eight years, boasted he had streamlined legal procedures to make it easier to fire teachers and end the "dance of the lemons" -- the shuffling of bad teachers from school to school.

Klein, 64, was in London at the behest of British Education Secretary Michael Gove to speak at a conference.

He slammed teacher unions for allowing the bad apples to sour the system.

"The union is going to protect incompetent workers -- that is their job," said Klein, who now works for News Corp., owner of The Post.

Klein remarked that unions are unhappy with the growth of high-performing charter schools because it threatens their "guaranteed client base."

The United Federation of Teachers did not respond to a request for comment.