I can't be alone amongst University Administrators in silently admiring those student that have chosen to show the Coalition Government exactly what they think of their proposals for the funding of HE.
Not the one that decided to drop a fire extinguisher off the roof of Millbank (ARU must be so proud) or those that broke the windows though (far better to have just demanded membership forms for everyone outside). The Socialist Worker Party and its ilk, adherents and loose affiliates eagerly turn up at any protest believing it to be the start of the Glorious Revolution and no doubt thought this one had more weight as the middle classes were involved.
The students that get my admiration are those that are vocalising and putting into action a heartfelt belief that HE should be free to all, funded by the state. Unfortunately, it looks like that tenet of UK society was lost when Labour got to power in 1997 and abandoned it when faced with the balance sheets and the risk involved with raising taxes for the rich. They were the ones that introduced fees and shifted the responsibility for funding HE from Government to "customers".
What this government is proposing to do is the logical conclusion of that process, Arts and Humanities are to be funded entirely by the students studying them, with Sciences only getting some basic funding (even though Browne has said
that wasn't what he intended). The illogical twist is that Universities will still be beholden to the Government, even for those courses it no longer funds.
All eyes are on the Commons now and the vote on 9 December. Will there be revolt amongst LibDem Cabinet Ministers? Will the coalition suffer a defeat, its first? Or will this all lead to a revolution in private provision of HE in the UK?
