On the eve of the Comprehensive Spending Review, UCAC education union expressed its dismay at the recommendations contained in the Browne Report on the future of Higher Education in England.
“If the recommendations in this report are implemented, it will be a devastating blow to Higher Education – not only in England, but also in Wales,” said Elaine Edwards, UCAC’s General Secretary.
“Removing the cap on fees will plunge students into devastating levels of debt, just when we are encouraging people to live within their means and rein in their credit card lifestyles. Any benefits to universities from the rise in fees will be instantly wiped out by the 80% cut in direct funding. Most universities will be no better off than at present, and many will struggle.”
UCAC supported comments made by Wales’s Education Minister, Leighton Andrews in a statement last week in which he rejected a market forces model of Higher Education in Wales.
“We join Leighton Andrews in supporting a Higher Education system based on individuals’ potential to benefit, rather than on their ability to pay – and we share his vision of a Higher Education system based on strategic planning rather than market forces.”
“In effect, the Browne Report recommends privatising university education, and we cannot accept that,” she added.
