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| Grist: Officer, That’s Not Jazz, I Say, It’s Felonious Junk! An angry purist attending the Sigüenza Jazz Festival in Spain called the police last week to protest an offending act. feeds.nytimes.com |
Polish police recover Auschwitz gate sign, damaged WARSAW, Poland (AP) -- Polish police have recovered the infamous Nazi sign stolen from the former Auschwitz death camp, cut into three pieces, and said Monday it appeared to have been taken by common criminals seeking profit.... hosted.ap.org |
Pirate cash suspected cause of Kenya property boom NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) -- Property prices in Nairobi are soaring, and Somali pirates are getting the blame.... hosted.ap.org |
For students' sake, free the market | Terence Kealey There is a link between university funding cuts and and rising standards: we need to reconnect supply and demandThe Russell Group Âprotested yesterday in the Guardian about the cuts in government funding for higher education. Yet it was reported last Friday that "nineteen of the country's leading 20 universities have quietly increased the A-level grades required to study some popular courses in an attempt to restrict student numbers". These two phenomena are linked. As government money for the universities falls, so – paradoxically, perhaps – do entry standards rise. This is because the numbers of places are limited but Âdemand for them continues to increase, so only increasingly better-qualified candidates will be admitted.Taken to its logical conclusion, this trend would imply that if government money falls to an infinitesimally small figure, the remaining infinitesimally small number of students would be infinitesimally gifted, which would obviously be absurd. But nevertheless the trend does suggest that less might indeed be more.Look at another article in yesterday's Guardian in which Chris Higgins, the Durham vice-chancellor, suggests that some British universities are of such modest quality that they should either close or be rebranded as US-style Âcommunity colleges (colleges of further education in all but name).We are seeing, in short, a Âreaction against the trends of the last two Âdecades. Since 1992, when the Âpolytechnics were converted into Âuniversities, governments have brought pressure to bear on the universities into widening access towards the 50% target. Inevitably, therefore, average Âstandards have fallen. At the same, degree Âinflation has seen the percentage of firsts and 2.1s rise from 45 to 60.Such developments might have been acceptable during a time of easy money, but now money is tight, the universities are having to ration access, and thus raise entry standards. But although the raising of entry standards in itself is desirable, it does still leave a social and skills deficit: should we not be mourning the abandonment of the 50% target?Of course we should, but the time has come for it to be properly funded. The problem in the UK today is that government money for the sector crowds out private money. Universities that take government money are not allowed to charge the fees the market would bear, nor to expand popular departments or courses. These restrictions on the market are self-defeating.The time has come to lift those restrictions and allow all universities to admit whoever they want at Âwhatever fees they can command, subject only to the requirement that no one should be denied entry for financial reasons. This means turning the higher Âeducation funding councils into bodies that fund students – and only students – on a needs-blind basis, rather than their remaining as organisations that fund and constrain universities and other institutions.The fear that higher top-up fees will deter students, particularly from poor backgrounds, has been disproved by the increasing demand for places. The demand is rising because students understand that education is not simply a right but an investment. Even today, when the graduate salary premium has fallen, higher education remains an excellent personal investment. But as government cuts bite and fees rise, so students will value their university experience, and demand ever more from it, in ways that will only further raise standards and their Âcommitment to it.The cuts in government money have to date served only to raise standards. But to revert to our desire to widen participation, and further increase students' commitment to their education, the market will have to be unchained.University fundingUniversity administrationStudentsPeter MandelsonTerence Kealeyguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Guantanamo prisoner plan attacked Rights campaigners criticise a recommendation that 47 Guantanamo Bay inmates should be held indefinitely without trial. news.bbc.co.uk |