The THES Diary

Those in favour

Mayhem ruled at this week's Oxford Union debate on student fees, sponsored by Andersen Consulting.

National Union of Students president Andrew Pakes, due to speak against the motion "This House Believes Students Must Pay their Way", mysteriously dropped out with four hours' notice and amid Tory claims he had been bleeped by Labour HQ for speaking against party line.

Then Damien Green, shadow minister for further and higher education, failed to turn up after having been told the wrong day. Although attendance was poor, the majority did agree that paying their way was not on - by 392 votes to 268. Presumably those in favour are relying on firms such as Andersen Consulting to reimburse them.

Faith in glove

England football supporters will be heartened to learn that Warwick Manufacturing Group, part of Warwick University, is planning to create "the most technologically advanced goalkeeping glove ever" for England and Arsenal goalkeeper, David Seaman. Many of the fans may be hoping this will encourage coach Glenn Hoddle to make more use of 20th century sports science and medicine instead of relying on faith healing.

Position vacant

Talk of training head teachers is all very fine, but it was hard to escape noticing that the Commons education and employment committee's education sub-committee, which met to discuss the issue, had no head itself. The gap left by Margaret Hodge's elevation to junior employment minister last August remains.

Natural brain box

Next month, Maharishi Open University will begin worldwide broadcasting of courses in total knowledge of natural law via eight satellites. It says: "The time has come to change the age-old concept of a university from all knowledge in one campus to all knowledge in one brain, all knowledge in every brain."

The cutting edge

Alternatively, students with a morbid bent may choose to exercise another part of their brain by tuning into the world's first "virtual autopsy website" at Leicester University. This allows medical students to conduct a virtual postmortem by using a computer mouse to call up the kind of information that would have been available to a pathologist wielding a knife.