"fail to counter" is a grammatically correct and commonly used phrase in written English.
It is typically used when describing a situation where someone or something is unable to prevent or oppose a certain action or result. Example: Despite their best efforts, the defense team failed to counter the prosecution's strong evidence.
It's not that public schools devalue education but they often fail to counter the messages of the street.
The "UK restricted" MI5 "operational briefing note", circulated within the security services in June, warns that, unless they understand the varied backgrounds of those drawn to terrorism in Britain, the security services will fail to counter their activities in the short term and fail to prevent violent radicalisation continuing in the long term.
BETHESDA, MARYLAND--With summer just months away, some medical entomologists worry that state and local health departments may fail to counter a possible resurgence of the mosquito-borne West Nile virus, which caused severe brain inflammations in 63 people in New York City and neighboring counties last year, killing seven (ScienceNOW, 13 March).
However, so long as their narratives remain invisible to the public eye and fail to counter the stories of sadness, misery, and suicide, disability will continue to be viewed as a death sentence.
Given the relative absence of popular education in critical media interpretation from both secular and religious institutions, especially in India, those who believe in religion as a positive cultural resource often fail to counter the more dominant media myths and distortions they find in the media.
Indeed, and not at all surprising to anyone who actually pays attention to American politics, it's at a Republican presidential debate, not a Democratic one, that vaccine-skepticism would receive a hearing (and the two doctors on stage would notably fail to counter that skepticism).
