The Conservative government is pursuing a “smokescreen” approach to cutting the number of people entering English universities, according to Labour’s shadow higher education minister.
Matt Western was speaking at a fringe event at the Labour conference in Brighton on 28 September, on “The future of higher education participation”, hosted by the National Education Opportunities Network.
Universities were under “huge pressure on delivery of courses” this year from an increase in student numbers, which Mr Western said he was “not sure that is what the government planned or wanted”, instead being down to “mismanagement of the pandemic by this government”.
But it is “fantastic we have so many more entering the sector”, said Mr Western.
Ahead of the government’s “final response” to the Augar review of post-18 education, set to come with the comprehensive spending review on 27 October, Mr Western highlighted potentially threatened foundation year funding and the Uni Connect access programme, which he was “making a claim for in the party ahead of our response to the CSR”.
Any government move to lower the loan repayment threshold for graduates – expected as the government seeks to cut the costs of the system – is “going to have huge impacts on social mobility”, he warned. “It will mean more costs for women students and those from low-income households.”
Mr Western also said: “All these measures are a smokescreen for wanting to reduce the number of people going into higher education.” But the government “won’t say that openly”, he added.
On Covid, Mr Western predicted that in universities “case rates of Covid will rocket, as we’ve seen in Scottish universities and we’ve seen in schools”.
But “I do believe the sector is better prepared” this year, he added, given its experience last year.
Mr Western called for more focus on the introduction of ventilation systems on campuses: “That is something the government needs to get behind.”
Kate Green, Labour’s shadow education secretary, said in her speech to the conference that “despite being overworked and undervalued, despite the chaos of the pandemic, our brilliant education workforce – teachers, leaders, lecturers and early years staff – have stepped up. And I want to say, on behalf of the Labour party, you have inspired us, and we extend our deepest thanks for all that you have done.”
