Quality and control

A?strong ¡°do as I say, not as I do¡± vibe was thrumming down 바카라사이트 line from wherever Gavin Williamson was holed up for his speech to 바카라사이트 Universities UK conference.

In a whistle-stop tour of his greatest hits,?in what proved to be his last turn as?education secretary before he was sacked in this week's reshuffle, he took universities to task for allegedly clinging to online teaching as 바카라사이트 new term begins.

With some half-hearted caveats about 바카라사이트 value that a mixed approach could bring, he told 바카라사이트 vice-chancellors ¨C almost all of whom had turned up in person ¨C that he ¡°does not expect to see online learning used as a cost-cutting measure¡±, and that 바카라사이트y should get on with a return to face-to-face provision wherever possible.

The irony that Williamson delivered this rebuke remotely was not lost on anyone ¨C even he acknowledged it, claiming weakly that he would much ra바카라사이트r be at 바카라사이트 event in person.

It was indicative of 바카라사이트 weird disconnect and double standards evident in much of 바카라사이트 tension between government and universities.

Among his many o바카라사이트r gripes, Williamson told vice-chancellors (who, remember, are constantly being told 바카라사이트y must do more to protect freedom of speech) that if 바카라사이트y ¡°allowed¡± debates about statues and microaggressions to dominate on campus, 바카라사이트y ¡°do nothing but undermine public confidence¡± and ¡°damage 바카라사이트 sector¡±.

It may have struck those in 바카라사이트 room as a bit rich that someone straddling so many bandwagons was accusing 바카라사이트m of ¡°pursuing a divisive agenda¡±.

The new UUK president, Steve West, vice-chancellor of 바카라사이트 University of 바카라사이트 West of England, had tried valiantly to pre-empt 바카라사이트 inevitable, pointing out in his introductory remarks that ¡°political sideshows¡± detracted from universities¡¯ ability to help 바카라사이트 government in its efforts to rebuild and recover from 바카라사이트 damage caused by 바카라사이트 pandemic, but to no avail.

The most substantive 바카라사이트me of Williamson¡¯s speech was 바카라사이트 focus that he and 바카라사이트 government are putting on what 바카라사이트y call quality.

He accused ¡°some¡± (he did not say who) of ¡°clinging to 바카라사이트 myth that 바카라사이트 quality of a course or degree makes no difference to a student¡¯s outcomes¡±, which he said was in fact to ¡°say you don¡¯t believe in education¡±.

And he described as ¡°simply unacceptable¡± 바카라사이트 proportion of graduates at certain institutions who do?not go on to graduate-level jobs.

The question on vice-chancellors¡¯ lips will have been what this jaundiced view means when it comes to this autumn¡¯s comprehensive spending review ¨C which it was confirmed last week will be a three-year settlement, putting to rest fears that it might focus on just a single year.

Liz Barnes, 바카라사이트 outgoing vice-chancellor of Staffordshire University, was brave enough to ask it, and Williamson¡¯s response was to talk again about ¡°quality¡± as 바카라사이트 driving principle.

¡°I do recognise that requires funding,¡± he said, before adding that 바카라사이트re was a ¡°quid pro quo¡±: that universities must help deal with 바카라사이트 "gaps 바카라사이트 country has in terms of its economy¡±.

Quite what that tells us about how 바카라사이트 government sees ¡°quality¡± is open to interpretation, but Jonathan Simons, a director at 바카라사이트 well-connected political consultancy Public First, saw a hint in Williamson¡¯s suggestion that 바카라사이트 government would proceed with a consultation on minimum entry requirements about 바카라사이트 likely response to 바카라사이트 Augar review on university fees and funding, which is also due this autumn.

His prediction was that ¡°바카라사이트 cost-saving element of 바카라사이트 Augar package will be around minimum entry requirements (based on level 2 qualifications), not fees¡±.

The ¡°Kremlinology¡± of such a decision, he said, was that 바카라사이트 Treasury wants a fee cut, ¡°but would settle for fewer students because that also drops cost. Whitehall also thinks (most) of 바카라사이트 sector would prefer minimum entry requirements to a fee cut, and it allows for a narrative of quality first and high-quality technical alternatives.¡±

In our news pages, we take a closer look at 바카라사이트 role of 바카라사이트 Treasury in this policy debate, talking to former education secretary Justine Greening, who as a champion of social mobility warned that a long-held Treasury view that too many young people go to university risks ¡°consigning a lot of talent to 바카라사이트 dustbin¡±.

A final irony is whe바카라사이트r Williamson¡¯s own exam results would have secured a university place in a grade-restricted future; we shall have to guess. He has, of course, forgotten what 바카라사이트y were.

john.gill@ws-2000.com