Higher Education

Baroness Garden of Frognal Excerpts

Thursday 7th March 2024 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Garden of Frognal (LD)]

My Lords, I thank the noble Lord, Lord Blunkett, for initiating this debate and for his wise and challenging words. I cannot think of a time or an issue on education where I disagreed with him. I am delighted to highlight the contribution of higher education to our national well-being and our national pride.

Higher education plays a critical part in the economy as well as in education. The media sadly seems to prefer tales of dissent—impoverished and bullied students, and overworked and underpaid staff—to tales of success and new thinking. We must never allow negative messages to shout down the immense success of the sector in which we all have confidence. Of course, we regret the issues highlighted by the noble Lord, Lord Patten.

Our universities continue to feature among the best in the world. For a small island, that is no mean achievement. It is in part because we have had very many centuries of encouraging and supporting education. We have historically valued higher education and need to continue to do so. In many towns and cities, universities and further and higher education colleges—as the noble Baroness, Lady Blackstone, said, we must never forget the colleges—are major employers. They generate millions of pounds in research and knowledge exchange and their community engagement involves staff and students volunteering in support of local projects. At Edinburgh University, for instance, its community grants scheme gives £618,000 worth of support to more than 220 community projects and its 9,200 academics generated a massive £3.2 billion impact from research and knowledge exchange activities. Many other universities can boast of similar activities and benefits to their local communities.

The Civic University Commission, led by the wonderful Lord Kerslake, claimed that when the first civic universities were set up at the end of the 19th century it was clear that, as well as aiming to rival the two ancient universities in the depth and quality of their learning, they also had specifically local concerns. They had a sense of the places in which they were located, as well as limitless intellectual ambition. That must not be lost in red tape and administrative bureaucracy.

Universities and colleges up and down the country offer opportunities for learning and working. Those in disadvantaged parts of the UK are prime sources of levelling up. Universities such as Lincoln and Lancaster have vastly increased the status of parts of the country not well served by wealth.

We know that the creative industries make a major contribution to our finances. Creativity is vital to society. The University of the Arts London, with its six component colleges, for instance, has over 22,000 students from 130 countries. It is not only a source of world-beating research, but a place where true international relations flourish. Another such place is Goodenough College in London, an educational charity that provides residential accommodation for talented British and international postgraduates and their families studying in London. It runs a programme of intellectual, cultural and social activities that aims to provide students with an international network and a global outlook—a true example of global Britain.

Adult learning in wonderful institutions such as Birkbeck and the Open University support lifelong learning, which is particularly vital for those who have never found inspiration at school but have the intellect and motivation to study for their own benefit and the benefit of society. We know that adult education is beset by lack of funding. Part-time learning misses out on grants and even loans. The lifelong learning entitlement may go some way to remedying this, but it is by no means certain that adults will wish to take on debt in order to study. Can the Minister say whether there is any evidence that adults are being enticed back into study by the entitlement?

There has been a sharp decline in part-time higher education in recent years. This is exacerbated by regional disparities. Numbers have fallen much faster in the north-east than in London, for instance. There should be much better incentives for those in low-participation areas. The Universities UK report Jobs of the Future found that more than 11 million extra graduates will be needed in the future to fill jobs in computing, engineering, teaching and health. Universities are evolving to meet such a challenging demand, but it is a challenge.

However, we must not assume that university is right for everyone. Students whose talents and interests lie in practical achievements should not be pressured by schools and parents into university when apprenticeships and vocational and professional qualifications may suit them better. Schools still do not brief their pupils on non-university routes. This is partly because they are still measured on GCSEs, A-levels and university entrance. But talented young people can feel adrift at university if that is not where their motivation lies.

As the noble Lord, Lord Blunkett, said, we must never suggest that universities are only for certain people. It takes courage to be the first in your family to go to university and we should be proud of the young people from disadvantaged backgrounds who choose university as a route out of underachievement and into opportunities for studying, socialising and learning, which will lead them to good jobs. Universities do so much to raise the status of their towns and cities, and to bring investment, enterprise and employment. We must take note of all they do and support their endeavours.