It’s been difficult being a determined blogger this last month or so.  Every time inspiration strikes, yet another government announcement, or news of an impending cut, or some further reorganisation sends me back to the drawing board.  Despairing of being able to coherently address some of these issues, at least until the politicians have departed for their bread and water style holiday at a rainy English resort, I’m therefore forced to fall back on basic principles.

Now, I will be the first to acknowledge that my views were formed in those far off days when my alma mater, the London School of Economics, was regarded as a radical establishment.  However, I’m not sure that they really are that controversial.

For a start, let us agree that the only economic future this country has depends on our being able to supply “added value”, in the widest sense of the phrase – and let us also acknowledge that, given the pace of technological change, it may well be the case, as many assert, that today’s graduate will have four very distinct careers in her (extended) working life, and that two of them haven’t even been invented yet.

It seems to me therefore that in the context of our economy and our society, the purpose of education (and, just for the sake of argument, let us acknowledge that it has to have a purpose) is to equip as much of the population as possible with the intellectual skills necessary to cope with change on a scale inconceivable to previous generations, and, secondly, to provide training and the development of the skill set necessary for the individual to successfully embark on the first of their four careers.  In both instances, learning to think and to make sense of information and data is absolutely critical.

Now, this does not mean everyone has to go to university, or college.  In my book, apprenticeships are an extremely valid way of equipping people for success, not merely because the training is highly practical but because it can also include a theoretical, virtually academic, approach to the subject which enables people to act on their own initiative, unlike the call centre mentality which seems to pervade so much of business.

Incidentally, I believe that considering education in this context does argue for a broader curriculum that that always provided by the ‘A’ Level system (step forward the IB), but doesn’t necessarily argue against shorter degrees – there really does need to be time to think, universities do have a vital formative role to play, but the current economic reality could possibly argue for shorter vacations………

Talking about the economic realities, I think there are a few points to make.  It seems to me (and I have to say that I’ve changed my mind on this over the past 5 years) that asking students to make some contribution is not unreasonable – certainly there is little evidence that doing so has reduced the number of applications!  However, given that the last figure I saw relating to the lifetime earnings advantage was not much over £100k, there is perhaps a limit to the contribution the average student can be expected to make.

It is certainly the case that universities in particular could and should do more to raise money themselves via philanthropy and via engaging much more wholeheartedly with the commercial world.  It is possibly even true that some universities could run more cost effectively, and further, that as demographics and globalisation kick in, we might not need so many separate institutions.

However, it is also true that, as I said at the beginning, society and the economy – in other words, everyone – benefit enormously from having a well educated, adaptable population.  In that context, it is, even in these times, the role of government, as the representative of society and of its taxpayers, to ensure that we continue to fund a world class tertiary education system, and one which actually is one of our most successful export industries.

And if further persuasion is necessary, surely it cannot be a coincidence that in the depths of cutbacks, recession, and restraints on government spending around the world, many of our principal competitors are actually increasing their investment in higher education.

Martin Bojam
Managing Partner, 360 Education