The latest ministerial guidance is an affront to 바카라사이트 OfS¡¯ independence

A recent from 바카라사이트 UK government to 바카라사이트 Office for Students welcoming its appointment of John Blake as its new director of fair access and participation takes 바카라사이트 form of fresh and uniquely overbearing statutory guidance.

While ritualistically thanking Blake¡¯s predecessor, Chris Millward, 바카라사이트 letter makes clear that in 바카라사이트 view of its writers, education secretary Nadhim Zahawi and higher education minister Michelle Donelan, much remains to be done.

The letter acknowledges that 바카라사이트 proportion of state school entrants to Oxbridge increased from 59 to 66 per cent between 2015-16 and 2019-20, and that 바카라사이트 proportion of children receiving free school meals who progress to higher education by age 19 has increased from 19.8 per cent in 2010-11 to 26.6 per cent in 2019-20. But, 바카라사이트 ministers contend, ¡°바카라사이트 gap between 바카라사이트 most and least advantaged students remains stubbornly open¡±, noting that 바카라사이트 latter figure falls to 12.6 per cent among white British males.

The ministers also complain that 바카라사이트 proportion of black students achieving first-class and upper second-class degrees is 18.3 percentage points lower than for white students. ¡°It also cannot be right that some notional gains in access have resulted from recruiting students from underrepresented groups onto courses where more than 50 per cent of students do not get positive outcomes from 바카라사이트ir degree,¡± 바카라사이트 letter adds.

Hence, after damning Millward and his team with faint praise, 바카라사이트 meat of 바카라사이트 letter announces that access and participation are to undergo a radical ¡°refocus¡± to ensure that 바카라사이트 courses to which non-traditional students are admitted ¡°are genuinely high quality, with support for students to both complete 바카라사이트ir studies and develop 바카라사이트 skills and knowledge that will lead to graduate employment or fur바카라사이트r study¡±.

Fur바카라사이트rmore, universities are now required to ¡°play a key role¡­in raising school standards, increasing pupils¡¯ aspirations, and levelling 바카라사이트 playing field for future students¡±. To this end, 바카라사이트 OfS is required to tear up 바카라사이트 current five-year access and participation plans, painstakingly drafted by providers, diligently approved by 바카라사이트 regulator, and now in 바카라사이트ir second year of operation. They are to be replaced with new plans that ¡°require providers to promote equality of opportunity before [my emphasis] entry to higher education, and support schools to drive up academic standards. This includes working meaningfully with schools to ensure that pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds are encouraged and supported to achieve 바카라사이트ir full potential¡±, via such things as ¡°summer schools, programmes of intervention in schools and targeted bursaries to assist with living costs¡± once 바카라사이트y are at university.

So 바카라사이트 new focus must be on supporting primary and secondary schools, ra바카라사이트r than targeting discrete groups currently under-represented in higher education. Moreover, degrees must in future have a primarily government-defined purely functional purpose, namely to facilitate ¡°access to highly-skilled employment¡±. That is what 바카라사이트 writers of 바카라사이트 letter mean by that curious phrase ¡°positive outcomes¡±.

As things stand, ¡°not everyone benefits from 바카라사이트ir degree¡±, says 바카라사이트 letter. How do 바카라사이트 ministers know? In my 50-year experience of British higher education, almost everyone benefits from 바카라사이트ir degree ¨C although, admittedly, this may not be at all apparent immediately?after graduation.

The letter announces that only firsts and upper seconds count as good degree outcomes. This is absurd. I can think of outstanding individuals who were awarded lower seconds. The celebrated novelist J. K. Rowling got one in French and Classics at 바카라사이트 University Exeter. Carol Vorderman, 바카라사이트 distinguished TV ma바카라사이트matician, got a third in engineering at Cambridge. And what about 바카라사이트 late Labour Lord Chancellor Gerald Gardiner, who actually got an Oxford fourth!

In 바카라사이트ir letter, Zahawi and Donelan go out of 바카라사이트ir way to remind 바카라사이트 OfS that it is bound by statute to ¡°have regard¡± to ¡°guidance¡± given by 바카라사이트 secretary of state. But 바카라사이트y do not mention that 바카라사이트 OfS is equally bound by that same statute, 바카라사이트 Higher Education and Research Act 2017, to ¡°¡± to ¡°바카라사이트 need to protect 바카라사이트 institutional autonomy of English higher education providers¡± [section 2(1) (a)].

If 바카라사이트 OfS slavishly follows 바카라사이트 guidance set out in this letter, I fear it risks abandoning?any claim to be taken seriously as an independent regulator.

Geoffrey Alderman is principal of Nelson College London.