Higher Education (Fee Limits and Student Support) (England) (Coronavirus) (Revocation) Regulations 2020

Lord McNicol of West Kilbride Excerpts

Thursday 29th October 2020 Grand Committee

[Lord Loomba (CB) [V]]

My Lords, it is right that the Government alter course where necessary, especially where original regulations, introduced in haste, are no longer fit for purpose. With universities initially offering more student places to offset an anticipated reduction in numbers due to the pandemic, those regulations sought to control the amount of money that universities would receive in the next academic year from English-domiciled students to ensure fairness. What do the Government propose to do to ensure that this type of situation does not occur in future if we are still in the same position next year or something else causes a similar situation to arise?

This issue needs also to be addressed across the devolved nations. The original legislation permitted the English student loans finance system to curtail the amount of funding available for English-domiciled students proposing to study in the devolved nations if universities there exceeded their student control number quotas. What discussions have been had with the devolved nations to ensure that in future, if English universities offer more places to students from the devolved nations to gain a financial benefit, they will not be prevented from doing so?

[The Deputy Chairman of Committees (Lord McNicol of West Kilbride) (Lab)]

After the next speaker, the noble Lord, Lord Forsyth, I shall call the noble Baroness, Lady Bennett.

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[Baroness Fox of Buckley (Non-Afl)]

My Lords, UCU, the UK’s largest academic union, had to cancel its online congress because it ran into technical problems. Could anything be more ironic, especially when one of the key matters for debate was the union’s opposition to the Government opening universities and the demand that all teaching be online? One does not need a PhD to know that Zoom and Teams are not fool-proof, or lecturer-proof, and are no substitute for face-to-face gatherings. I mention this because the greatest tragedy for students is not fees per se, or numbers, or algorithms, or even being locked up in their halls like prisoners or being accused of killing grannie by a government Minister. The real let-down is being abandoned by the official lecturers’ body and far too many politicians, who have sacrificed quality and personal engagement on the altar of safetyism.

I declare an interest as a visiting professor at the University of Buckingham, and I commend the vice-chancellor and staff of that university, who have worked with the student union to maximise as much face-to-face teaching as possible within the restrictions and delivered that blended learning model. The students have loved it, and so have the staff. Indeed, rank-and-file staff and many of my colleagues around the country from my previous life love teaching face to face but are being stopped from doing so by management and, indeed, their union. It is the cut and thrust of intellectual life, and far better than the stilted, awkward Zoom experience —such as here and now, indeed, in this Room.

Will the Minister commit to championing this higher education model, based on live human interaction, and challenge managements and the UCU which say that non-essential teaching should be done online? I want the Minister to ask what is “non-essential teaching”. It is perhaps a bit like the Welsh Assembly’s non-essential shopping. Any institution that believes it delivers non-essential teaching does not deserve fees or students. I would like to see the Minister and the Government championing face to face far more than they are doing, instead of getting caught up in the technicalities.

[The Deputy Chairman of Committees (Lord McNicol of West Kilbride) (Lab)]

After the next speaker, the noble Lord, Lord Liddle, I shall call the noble Lord, Lord Storey.

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Motion agreed.

[The Deputy Chairman of Committees (Lord McNicol of West Kilbride) (Lab)]

I remind Members to sanitise their desks and chairs before leaving the Room.