UCU comment on higher education white paper
28 June 2011
UCU today warned that the government was heading for an 'NHS-style crash' with reforms that had little support from either staff or students, but carried serious health warnings from the United States.
The union was commenting ahead of today's higher education white paper and warned that plans to increase competition amongst universities were an untried experiment that would force down quality and do serious damage to the UK's proud international reputation for excellence.
UCU general secretary, Sally Hunt, said: 'Trying to force down the cost of a degree after the government got its sums wrong will not solve the funding crisis it created. The only thing the government is likely to force down is quality.
'The government is heading for an NHS-style crash with these US-style reforms which have little or no support from either staff or students. The siren voices calling for more for-profit universities here are the same as those who have immersed higher education in the US in a series of mis-selling scandals where poor students have lost out.
'Our universities need stable funding for high quality courses, and a government prepared to support them, not the dead end of privatisation.'
UCU general secretary, Sally Hunt, said: 'Trying to force down the cost of a degree after the government got its sums wrong will not solve the funding crisis it created. The only thing the government is likely to force down is quality.
'The government is heading for an NHS-style crash with these US-style reforms which have little or no support from either staff or students. The siren voices calling for more for-profit universities here are the same as those who have immersed higher education in the US in a series of mis-selling scandals where poor students have lost out.
'Our universities need stable funding for high quality courses, and a government prepared to support them, not the dead end of privatisation.'
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