Comments on: 20,000 extra uni places encouraging but more needed

By: Roger Irvine

Roger Irvine — Fri, 25 Mar 2011 09:29:43 +0000

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By: Staffordshire UNISON

Staffordshire UNISON — Thu, 24 Mar 2011 20:20:51 +0000

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By: winston smith

winston smith — Thu, 24 Mar 2011 19:51:02 +0000

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By: Tower Hamlets Unison

Tower Hamlets Unison — Thu, 24 Mar 2011 19:36:05 +0000

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By: Tower Hamlets Unison

Tower Hamlets Unison — Thu, 24 Mar 2011 19:36:05 +0000

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By: Paul Coxon

Paul Coxon — Thu, 24 Mar 2011 16:53:45 +0000

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By: The FactCheck Blog - More uni places than ever?

The FactCheck Blog - More uni places than ever? — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 17:35:16 +0000

[…] Labour had planned to create an extra 20,000 places this year. But when the coalition was formed, it announced it was cutting 10,000 of […]

By: Ian

Ian — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 21:22:19 +0000

Sally the need is for Quality graduates and what I see coming out of too many new universities are young people without the right skills or education. I feel that we need more on the job training and training posts. When I left school in the mid 1980s school leavers were offered training posts by Banks, High Street Retailers and others that via day release offered entry into Chartered Institutes.

This route matched skills with requirements. Too many attend University today because they have no understanding of what they wish to do and feel that they need a Graduate Education. These people are poorly served and under skilled when compared with the standards seen in Europe. Rather than attempt to match the process factories seen in India and China are Universities need to provide new workers able to function in a Service Economy rather than a Manufacturing one.

I am not against education, I have invested in both professional qualifications and a PhD in Economics. I fear that a focus on numbers rather than quality is the issue. Standards could rise over time in the University sector but the race for growth has seen them fall. When I was a University a tutorial was 2-5 students, the tenured lecturer would push our boundaries and we were encouraged to think. None of which seems to be the case in the factories that have developed to meet “demand”.

I don’t seek an elitist system but rather one that is fit for purpose.

By: Mr. Sensible

Mr. Sensible — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 12:06:56 +0000

Ian what I do not think we should do is go back to the bad old days of an elitist system.

What I find ironic, though, is how the Universities say they need to increase fees ETC yet their Vice Chancellors can be paid more than the Prime Minister…

By: Sally Hunt

Sally Hunt — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 10:07:14 +0000

@Thomes Byrne. 96% (39,000) of companies in the UK will not be affected by UCU’s proposals. Main Rate Corporation Tax only applies to profits greater than £1.5m. Companies earning lower profits than this pay the small companies’ rate of 21%. UCU’s proposals leave this unchanged. This means it is the likes of Tesco, the banks and KPMG who are paying, not small businesses.

With regards to non-implementation of Tory policies, one could argue this is because they are not in power. Even if they were I do not think that policy would provide the funds required or be a fair solution.

@Ian. I am afraid that I do not just buy the idea that we need fewer graduates. Establishing a plentiful supply of high quality graduates is key to the UK’s economic prosperity. I quote from the CBI: ‘demand for graduates has grown and will continue to do so, over the last 15 years the proportion of jobs requiring a degree-level qualification has risen from 23 to over 30%, with the number of jobs requiring few or no qualifications falling from 60 to under 40%’.

We need more, not fewer, graduates if we are to compete in the high-skill world of tomorrow. The likes of India and China are producing more and more graduates as their economies emerge. We must do the same. As we expand higher education we must ensure it is properly resourced. We cannot keep cramming more students into our universities and expect them to receive the education they deserve and now have to pay for.

Thanks both for taking the time to comment.

Best
Sally