Entrapment: How Labour is ruining Britain’s universities
Entrapment is a horrible thing. Whether it’s US snipers using ‘bait’ to give themselves an excuse to shoot Iraqis, or just a really bad movie, it should be avoided in all forms. But, according to The Times, this is exactly what the government is doing to the UK’s universities:
“Universities will now have their government grants reduced if they recruit too many students.”
Now, hang on just a second. This is the same government that wants to get 50% of the population into higher education. This is the same government that refuses to fund universities adequately enough, so that they don’t have to go whoring themselves to international students in south eat Asia. To punish universities for attempting to compensate for ludicrous government policy is madness.
Overfilling universities is far from ideal, but what did the government expect?
If a university is faced with a dearth of funding on one hand, and a heavy handed government breathing down its neck to get more students into university on the other, how is it supposed to react?
Of course universities will try to maximise the number of students they can fit in. Is this good for universities? No. Is this good for students? No. Will threatening funding cuts help the situation? No.
John Denham, minister for universities said:
“Any over-recruitment in the coming year could result in a transfer of HEFCE grant back to this Department in that or future years, in order to meet the consequent unanticipated student support costs.”
‘Unaticipated student support costs’? Labour despretely wanted to increase the number of poor kids at universities, but now that they are there, the government has realised it has no bloody money to pay for it. Labour is pulling the rug out from under the very people it is supposed to protect. It is disgraceful.
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