Hello,
Some collected thoughts on the Browne Review and the forthcoming Comprehensive Spending Review:
As I mentioned yesterday the letter from Steve Smith indicates a substantial, sector-altering reduction in central government spending on universities and higher education colleges – from the current £3.9 billion to £700 million. This would seem in line with what Lord Browne wrote in his review, although there are questions over whether or not Smith has interpreted what Browne wrote correctly. One account, from the comments section of this Times Higher Education article, argues that things are not as bad as they might seem.
Of course nothing lasting can be said until the Comprehensive Spending Review later on this month. The Government has agreed with the Browne Report findings in the meantime though, so we can assume that some sort of heavy reduction is forthcoming. The key question however is when those cuts will come. Two events will largely shape the HE sector in England over the next five years: what happens at the CSR, and any subsequent funding decisions taken by the Government, and the implementation of the Browne Report's recommendations. In simple terms, the Government will stop donating a large amount of money to the universities in England, but allow those universities to charge higher fees in order to recoup some of their costs.
Now the impact of those actions will vary according to each institution and department. From the sound of things the Government is planning to concentrate funding on scientific research and the more obviously 'profitable' areas within the HE sector, and some universities are better placed to survive these cuts than others. However it seems unlikely, to my mind at least, that higher tuition fees will be in place before 2012 (I would heavily suspect in time for the 2013 entry). Firstly we're already half-way through October 2010, and they will take some time to implement. Secondly that would mean that of the current generation of undergraduates, only those in their first year at the moment may be hit by higher fees (it's worth noting here that universities can't put up fees during the academic year at the moment). Any other decision, in my view, would be political suicide for a number of Coalition MPs.
(Although the argument can quite convincingly be put that this decision is already political suicide for the current Liberal Democrat front-bench).
If cuts are enacted before 2012-2013 though, if I'm right, then the sector is facing one to two years of a major funding gap. Where will the money come from? Savings possibly, but for how long? Lisa Jardine of Queen Mary, University of London paints a bleak picture of higher fees going towards a learning environment no different from the current one when asked about this in this week's Any Questions? (the time reference is around 12 minutes in).
In a declaration of honesty, I should reiterate the fact that I'm not addressing this topic from a neutral point of view. I am a second-year PhD student aiming to become an academic, and so this decision directly affects me. Above all else, it makes me pessimistic over whether or not I can get a job in this country in the HE sector come 2012. Things might change, and the situation might not be as bleak as I currently suspect it will be. It's difficult though to imagine a raft of universities aggressively hiring in this current climate though.
My own plans are to keep my head down, concentrate on building up my employability, and scout out what opportunities are open to me. What needs to be remembered is that it's not just esoteric academics like me that these decisions might affect; there are secretaries, managers, cleaners, kitchen staff, porters, handymen, drivers, technicians, IT workers and even gardeners who all call a university their employer.
We all knew it was going to be this difficult. No matter whether one might agree with the economic forecast the Coalition has made little secret of the fact that they intend(ed) to aggressively cut down on government spending – we're looking at reductions seen not since Thatcher at best, or the National Government in the 1930s at worst. I suppose the twin questions I would ask though would be does it have to be this difficult, and is there an alternative?
Might even add a third question: if there is an alternative, what is it?
No comments:
Post a Comment