King argues. He therefore puts the challenge back to government that if they slash that sector’s funding, they’ll have to replace it. “[It’s] the hugely important people business, the fact that for every pound we get from government, we actually earn another pound outside. We’re probably one of the few elements of the public sector that actually manages to do that. And consequently, if there’s a big cut we won’t be able to do the things we do,” he says. “For example, international recruitment sustains Scottish HE. International recruitment in the UK pulls in about £5.5bn a year. If we stopped internationally recruiting, you’d have to get the equivalent of the aerospace industry and pharmaceuticals to replace what we do. Tat’s the scale. So government, when you cut back on HE, what are your next industries that you’re going to establish to replace overseas earnings? Tat’s a hard question.” To help bridge the funding shortfall, King
has “no problem” with a tax on graduates, himself included. Indeed, he thinks there is an “emergent consensus that some form of graduate contribution will be inevitable to pay for the education and experience”. With the Comprehensive Spending Review
approaching, the Browne Review of higher education in England to report in October and the Scottish Government to respond with a Green Paper early next year, the sector faces a period of uncertainty. Te Browne Review could have grave implications for Scotland. If it allows universities to raise tuition fees in England, Scotland’s ability to compete could be impaired. If such a rise in fees is accompanied by a drop in government
Beyond the headlines Statistics
In the current financial climate every spend is under scrutiny, and rightly so. The Scottish Government’s latest move to scrap a raft of education statistics, however, smacked of convenience rather than efficiency. The Government has drawn up plans to abolish several sets of published data, including the number of pupils excluded from school, teacher vacancies, take-up of free school meals, pre-appeal exam results and spending on state schools and pupils in the private sector. Education Secretary Mike Russell argues that the collation of these figures places a bureaucratic burden on teachers and is of little benefit to education. His plans follow an earlier decision to stop Scotland participating in the international studies, the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) and the Trends in International Maths and Science Survey (TIMSS). Russell’s argument is one of action over measurement. In a period of retrenchment, why should the Government
funding, that would have a negative impact on Barnett consequentials for Scottish institutions. And with a 45 per cent reduction of university spending rumoured, King warns that such a cut would be “lethal”. “I’m possibly one of the few people saying it
but I think the extent of the effect of some of the proposed cuts is potentially so great that actually, they’re potentially lethal – they’re not cuts. “Te point is, you can do lethal cuts, and you
can do cuts. Some are surgical and some are lethal. And I think once you’re talking about 45 per cent or 50 per cent you’re moving into an arena where we’re not talking about the survival of the creature at all, it’s another thing. “And I don’t think anybody’s gone there. So
I want to see us down there before we have to look at other consequences. In other words, there’s stuff going to happen down south. We in Scotland have an opportunity to learn. I’d like to see us learn, please.” King believes Scotland is fortunate to have
breathing space before the 2011 elections to observe what happens in England and have its own debate. And as those polls approach, his message to MSPs is unequivocal: “Value the rich tradition of Scotland’s universities. Harm it at your peril. And in 20 years’ time, don’t look back, as we do now at the motor industry in Britain, and say, ‘How did we lose it?’ Because that’s what we could be doing.”
Professor Bernard King will speak at Holyrood’s Te Future of Higher Education in Scotland conference on 28 October: http://highereducation.
holyrood.com/
be wasting time and money measuring performance rather than acting to improve it? There is some merit in that point: bureaucracy must be kept to a minimum in the years ahead and a sensible balance struck between assessing and doing. But statistics remain a fundamental aspect of any successful education system. They may not always be convenient for governments – as the last TIMSS survey that placed Scotland amongst third world countries demonstrated – but they are essential to an informed debate.
At a time of major educational reform, when the Government is focused on improving educational outcomes for every child, cutting back on the information available to determine success is not the right move. If Scottish education is to progress, the impact of what is being put in must be identified. There are anomalies to be rectified in Scotland’s education figures. Methods of recording data can vary between councils, meaning, statistics are not always comparing like with like and therefore, are not reliable. Scrapping such statistics altogether, however, is not the answer.
IN BRIEF OECD survey
An annual survey by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Education at a Glance, has shown that the UK’s position in the graduate league tables has fallen sharply in eight years. While the UK had the third highest graduation rate among industrialised countries in 2000, that had fallen to 15th place in 2008, overtaken by Slovakia, Poland and the Czech Republic. The survey also found that Scottish teachers spend more time teaching than any other OECD country apart from New Zealand, Mexico and the United States.
Class sizes capped The Scottish Government has announced plans to limit Primary 1 class sizes to 25 pupils. The proposed cap would come into force on 11 October and apply to the 2011/12 academic year. Under current regulations, up to 30 pupils are allowed in each class. Opposition parties pointed out that the proposed cap was still some way short of the SNP’s 2007 manifesto pledge to introduce maximum class sizes of 18 for Primary 1-3 children.
Glasgow principal warns of funding shortfall Professor Anton Muscatelli, principal of the University of Glasgow and eminent economist, has warned that his institution will run out of money by 2013 unless action is taken. Muscatelli predicted a real-terms cut in government funding to universities of up to one- quarter over the next four years. The principal’s warning was described as overly pessimistic by the University and College Union (UCU), however, which said that Glasgow has healthy financial reserves.
“Scandalous” education gap revealed Children’s charity Save the Children has branded as “scandalous” new figures that reveal a significant gap between poorer children and their co-pupils in Scotland. The average tariff scores of pupils across the country showed that children from wealthier homes perform over 60 per cent better than those receiving free school meals. The local authority with the widest gap was Stirling, with a difference of 102 per cent between the performance of poorer pupils and their classmates.
Access to universities criticised A report from Universities UK has shown that Scotland has the worst record on widening access to university compared to the other three nations in the UK. The report found that 28.1 per cent of Scottish students come from the lowest socio-economic backgrounds compared to 41.8 per cent in Northern Ireland, 32.5 per cent in Wales and 32.4 per cent in England. Labour’s higher education spokesperson Claire Baker described the findings as “a hammer blow to Mike Russell’s credibility on the serious issues that face higher education”.
20 September 2010 Holyrood 37
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