Government funding plans 'a disaster' for universities
25 January 2012
Responding to the release of the higher education funding letter today, UCU said that the government's funding plans were an untried experiment that would be disastrous for the UK's academic reputation.
The letter to the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) from the secretary of state for business, innovation and skills, Vince Cable, and the universities minister, David Willetts, details an £830m (18%) reduction in universities' teaching grants in 2012-13.
It also confirms a sizeable increase in the amount of money being pumped into student loans so students can meet the increased cost of their tuition. In addition, the government is carving out a further £62m from the HEFCE budget for an emergency fund to help it deal with unforeseen demand for student loans.
The union said the plans to shift the burden of funding thousands of university courses from the state to individual students would put jobs and courses at risk as entire subject areas, such as arts and the humanities and social sciences, were stripped of almost all teaching funding.
UCU general secretary, Sally Hunt, said: 'The government's university funding plans are a dangerous experiment untried anywhere else in the world that could well be disastrous for our universities.
'Our universities are globally-renowned, yet the government's plans put that proud standing at risk. For all the talk of empowering students under a new market system, they will ultimately have less choice as fewer courses will be on offer.
'This is an ideological move that will not save the country money, because millions of pounds will have to be pumped into the loans system so students can borrow money to fund their courses.'
It also confirms a sizeable increase in the amount of money being pumped into student loans so students can meet the increased cost of their tuition. In addition, the government is carving out a further £62m from the HEFCE budget for an emergency fund to help it deal with unforeseen demand for student loans.
The union said the plans to shift the burden of funding thousands of university courses from the state to individual students would put jobs and courses at risk as entire subject areas, such as arts and the humanities and social sciences, were stripped of almost all teaching funding.
UCU general secretary, Sally Hunt, said: 'The government's university funding plans are a dangerous experiment untried anywhere else in the world that could well be disastrous for our universities.
'Our universities are globally-renowned, yet the government's plans put that proud standing at risk. For all the talk of empowering students under a new market system, they will ultimately have less choice as fewer courses will be on offer.
'This is an ideological move that will not save the country money, because millions of pounds will have to be pumped into the loans system so students can borrow money to fund their courses.'
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