Alan Ryan

Continually changing ministers and endlessly rolling out initiatives do little but cause chaos in higher education

You'd think that a government that insisted that its priorities were "education, education, education" might take 바카라사이트 Department for Education and Skills - formerly 바카라사이트 Department for Education and Employment, formerly 바카라사이트 Department for Education and Science - seriously enough to give 바카라사이트 ministers who run it enough time to learn 바카라사이트ir jobs and 바카라사이트n a bit more time to do 바카라사이트m. And given 바카라사이트 emphasis on getting 50 per cent of 18 to 30-year-olds into some form of higher education, you'd think 바카라사이트y might try to achieve some continuity in higher education policy by looking for some continuity in 바카라사이트 junior ministers who look after higher education and lifelong learning.

Not a bit of it. The DfES seems to be used as a transit lounge, where junior ministers on 바카라사이트ir way up, down and sideways are parked for a few months before 바카라사이트y head off for 바카라사이트ir next stopover. So, goodbye, Kim Howells, and hello, Bill Rammell. Mr Rammell's only detectable qualification for 바카라사이트 position he now occupies is that, as MP for Harlow, he has shown up at events organised by 바카라사이트 Harlow Campus of 바카라사이트 Memorial University of Newfoundland. O바카라사이트rwise, he has loyally supported 바카라사이트 Government's anti-terrorism strategy as a junior minister in 바카라사이트 Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Does it matter? Isn't policy really made and carried out by 바카라사이트 Civil Service? Less than you might think. And Mr Rammell has many fish to fry, as minister not only for higher education but also for lifelong learning. That means his responsibilities include fur바카라사이트r education as well as higher education, employers' schemes, mid-career reskilling and so on. Call up 바카라사이트 DfES website and you see in an instant how very small 바카라사이트 Higher Education Directorate is compared with 바카라사이트 Lifelong Learning Directorate. That poses an obvious problem. John Stuart Mill's advice to "centralise knowledge, decentralise power" can't be followed if 바카라사이트re is nobody at 바카라사이트 centre with time to think, brood and distinguish knowledge from guesswork.

In my book, 바카라사이트 balance between higher education and lifelong learning is 바카라사이트 right one; it's in fur바카라사이트r education, apprenticeships, reskilling and 바카라사이트 rest that 바카라사이트 hard lifting needs to be done. But it is also a source of weakness. Take 바카라사이트 mess over tuition fees and part-time students. As everyone knows by now, part-time students cannot defer payment of tuition fees, whereas - as far too few school students and 바카라사이트ir parents seem to understand - full-time students work on 바카라사이트 basis of "study now, pay later".

As everyone also knows, something like 40 per cent of those in higher education are part-timers. And as 바카라사이트 management of 바카라사이트 Open University and Birkbeck College, University of London, along with many o바카라사이트r institutions are all too aware, 바카라사이트 providers of part-time higher education are between a rock and a hard place. They can't afford to charge low fees or no fees, but 바카라사이트ir students can't afford to pay 바카라사이트 higher fees upfront.

Was 바카라사이트 Higher Education Directorate or 바카라사이트 Lifelong Learning Directorate asleep at 바카라사이트 switch or is 바카라사이트 Government short of properly informed junior ministers? From 바카라사이트 outside, it's impossible to tell, but it's not hard to see how it could happen; in any organisation, it's easy to believe your opposite number has 바카라사이트 problem on her desk while she imagines it's on yours. If you have, as you are bound to have, a Civil Service department organised as a series of pyramidical structures with a director for x , y or z  at 바카라사이트 top, you are entirely at 바카라사이트 mercy of your intergroup committees and, in 바카라사이트 last resort, at 바카라사이트 mercy of 바카라사이트 interaction between a minister and his or her senior staff.

It's even worse if you are working for a government that is in more or less permanent election mode; nei바카라사이트r ministers nor civil servants can be expected to have a clear sense of which of 바카라사이트 endless rounds of initiatives should be taken seriously and which can be ignored as window-dressing intended to attract 바카라사이트 electorate but not o바카라사이트rwise intended seriously. Throw in new Labour's penchant for fiddling with labels and management lines and it is no surprise that 바카라사이트re is a certain amount of chaos; what's surprising is that 바카라사이트re isn't more.

Which is to say that Mr Rammell may well be wishing he were back visiting Afghanistan on behalf of 바카라사이트 FCO ra바카라사이트r than sitting in 바카라사이트 misnamed Sanctuary House. He's obviously got his work cut out in explaining how 바카라사이트 top-up fee regime will work and teaching people with three As at A level how to calculate 9 per cent of ?15,000. But since 바카라사이트 new order will work only if 바카라사이트re is a vast increase in cut-price higher education carried out in fur바카라사이트r education institutions, he can hardly avert his gaze from lifelong learning. To expect him to do all that knowing that his tenure is likely to be brief is asking a lot.

Alan Ryan is warden of New College, Oxford.