Some light was shone on the ‘darkness’ of government policies on universities. However, we are all waiting for all the lights to be switched on. There are big promises but little detail emerging yet. It appears Labour policy on university reform was caught on the hop by a snap election. They don’t have much time to catch up.
Education Secretary, Bridget Phillipson presented her plans on education, including universities, earlier today in a general debate on education and opportunity. It was a chance for some others to express their views, but her comments were the only ones that mattered.
“Public good and not a political battle ground”
That was the promise from Phillipson for our universities. The university sector may take some comfort in those few seconds that offered more cooperation than conflict.
There was also a promise of “no more darkness”, but many would like the light to be switched on sooner than later. There is an urgent need for something to emerge for both universities and students. TEFS would like to see a radical change in how universities are funded with the repayment burden falling on all those who benefit. This means graduates, their employers and wider society. A Graduate Levy on National Insurance would be the easiest to administer (see TEFS 10th May 2024 ‘Funding students and Universities: a graduate National Insurance Levy is gaining traction’)
Phillipson’s few comments on universities are here:
Universities respond.
Universities UK responded later today with a plan to release a comprehensive treatise on UK universities in the Autumn. The ‘New paper to set out the role of universities in addressing the government’s priorities’ is billed as a ‘Blueprint for Universities’ and will consist of eight chapters from established experts.
There is acknowledgement of universities as a vehicle for ‘social mobility’ and the responsibility to consider this falls to Professor Nick Pearce in ‘Creating opportunity for learners in England and promoting social mobility’. He is Professor of Public Policy and Director of the Institute for Policy Research at the University of Bath. Before that he was the Director of Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR). Earlier the was head of the No10 Downing St. policy unit at a pivotal time in university policy under Labour. He will have a formidable task in gathering a vast amount of evidence in a short space of time. But hopefully his efforts will inform the government in time and that students are not left out of the overall equation that is formulated.
Post-16 education.
This is a major battle ground that must be fought over in relation to wider access to a university education. There have been many calls for a pause in the removal of BTECs and it appears Phillipson has heeded these calls. However, she also sends out a mixed message.
Without mentioning BTECs specifically, she indicated that there would be a pause in the ‘defunding schedule.’ There will be
“A short pause and review of post-16 qualification reform at Level-3 and below, concluding before the end of the year. This means that the defunding scheduled for next week will be paused”.
This was clarified on X later today with the following that is helpful.
However, the roll out of T-levels will continue and she plans to update the house on this shortly. There are many who would like to see a pause in rolling out T-levels too. They are proving to be divisive and for many students lead to a stark binary decision at age sixteen. TEFS has considered this to be crude ‘social engineering’. The review promised will have to move fast to restore choice and confidence for the students affected. (see TEFS 224th October 2024 ‘T-level confusion at the Department for Education: what is the end game?’)
The full statement from Phillipson is here:
It is clear there is much more to come, and the Labour party seems to have been caught off guard by the snap election. The new Minister for Skills, Further and Higher Education, Jacqui Smith (aka Baroness Smith of Malvern) has been pushed into the deep end and has yet to surface with more detail. She too has a massive task ahead to be completed in record time. The is only one gentle reminder from here ‘Don’t forget the students’.
The author, Mike Larkin, retired from Queen’s University Belfast after 37 years teaching Microbiology, Biochemistry and Genetics. He remains optimistic and loves mixed metaphors