THE BBC is due to receive the green light this week to proceed with plans to develop a digital curriculum for schools in a move that will anger private sector publishers.

Under the plan, the BBC will devote £150 million of licence fee money over five years to create a network that will deliver online educational material “free”.

The BBC’s proposal has met strong opposition from the Digital Learning Alliance, a publishing industry lobby group, which has warned the Government that private sector companies could see their revenues shrink by £400 million over the five years as a result. The alliance speaks for all the main educational publishers including Pearson Education, Oxford University Press, Granada Learning and HarperCollins, which is owned by The News Corporation, parent company of The Times.

The Government is expected to give the BBC the go-ahead for its online schools venture on Thursday, although conditions will be attached. It is hoped that these will be sufficient to prevent the publishers from complaining to the European Commission that the scheme represents illegal state aid.

A source close to the proceedings said: “BBC Three is the model.”

The BBC was given permission to launch its new digital television channel for young adults despite opposition from commercial broadcasters, but only after 12 conditions were imposed. A quarter of all commissions for BBC Three must come from the independent sector.

The Government will this week set out similar detailed conditions regarding the digital curriculum.

The BBC will have to spend a set proportion of the curriculum with private sector publishers. The BBC will also be required to publish its plans several years in advance.

The Department for Education and Skills will make £50 million available for schools to buy software from the private publishers.