The topic of higher education has come into the limelight again after David Lammy, the new Minister of State for Higher Education, commented that there might be too many universities in the United Kingdom.

The remarks were made in an address delivered at a Universities UK (UUK) event on the 14th October, entitled ‘The Future Size and Shape of the Higher Education Sector’.

The new minister pointed out several problems facing the higher education sector, as well as possible solutions. In his speech, Lammy asked: “Do you have the right number of institutions? In the commercial sector there would have to be many mergers over the next few decades – far more than we have seen in higher education. Could more be done to encourage that among universities?”

The idea of merging universities has existed for some time now. Back in November 2002 the previous Rector, Sir Richard Sykes, attempted to form a merger between Imperial College [IC] and University College London [UCL]. However after four weeks of talks, the proposal was called off.  Sir Richard claimed that it had “become clear that the best interests of our two institutions are not served by a formal merger.” One senior academic from UCL told felix about IC’s political intention, describing the  proposals as a takeover rather than a true merger. The academic referred to the situation as “more of a rape than a marriage.”

Ultimately, the merger crumbled since many UCL academics feared that it would leave many of their scientists without jobs, whereas Imperial’s staff would suffer far less.

Since the introduction of the Further and Higher Education Act in 1992, the UK has seen the creation of some 60 new universities. The current number of higher education institutions, according to the University and College Admissions Service, is 325, which goes a long way to helping the government reach their 2010 target of having 50% of 18-30 year olds in higher education.

The current financial state of universities was also one of the topics of discussion in Lammy’s speech. Many universities rely on student fees to remain financially viable, though many have already claimed that this model is not a feasible one, with Lammy believing that it is unsustainable. Top-up fees were introduced back in 2006, after much complaint, with students paying around £3,000 per an academic year. Indeed Sir Richard commented last October that he is in support of increasing Top-up fees to £5,000 after the 2009 review. Lammy, himself, is a graduate of the School of Oriental and African Studies (University of London) and Harvard Law School, regularly receiving requests for donations from the latter. Contributions from alumni are a source of funding the minister highlighted for future consideration by UK universities. The views of the current Rector, Sir Roy Anderson, are as yet still unknown; however, he did comment in his Commemoration Day speech that entrance exams will be brought in by 2010, in response to the current number of applications where he said that “we cannot continue on this path”.

Contradicting government policy, John Denham, Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills, said in August this year: “There are certainly young people who currently go to university who would have been better off on an advanced apprenticeship. We have been in danger of making it sound as if university is the only real aspiration.”

This echoes the view of Sir Richard who said last October that “the system has to change. It will then make people think twice before they go off and do those damn silly courses that are no good to them and won’t get them a good job at the end of the day. It would mean university is not just a nice four years off.”

This Wednesday, the Government announced they will be cutting student grants after discovering a £200m funding shortfall. Last year, students were eligible for a grant if their parents earned less than £60,000, however this has now been cut to £50,020. The decrease in the limit is expected to affect 10% of students starting next year, some 40,000 students. NUS President Wes Streeting commented that “the Government needs to stop tinkering with grants and fees every year, and recognise that the entire higher education funding system is unsustainable.” Liberal Democrat University spokesman Stephen Williams went on the record as saying that “ministers got their sums completely wrong.

“This kind of incompetence is not going to persuade young people that the Government is committed to supporting them with their studies.
“As we enter a recession, ministers are going to have to face-up to the fact that more students are going to be expecting to receive maintenance support in the years to come.”

The higher education debate will undoubtedly continue for many years, as the balance between a good quality degree and the financial consequences of getting one are established.

Source: Felix online