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22 Dec 2009 16:10:54
A good day for the Government to bury bad news for universities and students - that’s the view of University of Bedfordshire Vice Chancellor Professor Les Ebdon CBE.
Professor Ebdon was responding to Lord Mandelson's annual grant letter to the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) as chair of the think-tank million+.
He said: "The cuts imposed on universities and students by this grant letter are serious and avoidable. Higher education should have been included in the Government's stimulus package.
“Instead, 22 December will go down as a good day for the Government to bury bad news for universities and students alike. Both are being made to pay for the Government's failure to provide sufficient funds for student support and teaching and there will be another shortage of places in 2010.
"Proposals to substitute three year degrees for two year degrees are tinkering around the edges. Two year degrees work for some students, who do not have to fund themselves with part-time jobs, but they cost universities just the same as three year degrees and they will only be offered by a limited number of universities for a small number of courses.
"The proposal to redistribute teaching grant through competitive bidding will simply reduce core teaching by the back door through a process that has nothing to do with quality.
“The request to ask HEFCE to investigate a return to higher levels of research concentration, in spite of the outcome of the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise, will infuriate staff at universities which teach the majority of the UK's higher education students and have shown beyond any doubt that they are engaged in world-leading research.
"It is deeply regrettable that this is the last grant letter that will be issued before the election. As an end of term report of a Government that has shown outstanding commitment to widening participation it will win few marks or plaudits."
Latest news» 2009» December» Government's grant letter will win few marks - says Uni Vice Chancellor
