Higher Education

Lord Holmes of Richmond Excerpts

Wednesday 9th April 2014 Lords Chamber

[Lord Holmes of Richmond (Con)]

My Lords:

“A man who has never gone to school may steal from a freight car; but if he has a university education he may steal the whole railroad”.

Theodore Roosevelt knew of what he spoke. In saying that, he clearly demonstrated the benefit of higher education to the individual and to the entire nation. I thank my noble friend the Minister for initiating this incredibly significant debate.

Twenty years ago this summer, I graduated from the University of Cambridge. I was incredibly fortunate to win a place there. It was an extraordinary experience to be tutored, one to one, by some of the greatest minds in the world. To demonstrate the quality of that tuition, one of my ex-tutors will be speaking later in this debate.

To be part of that community at Cambridge—what an extraordinary opportunity that was. That institution has burned bright for centuries, not just across Britain but across the world, creating and motivating some of the world’s greatest scientists, writers, poets and engineers; a university which has created more Nobel Prize winners than almost anywhere else on the planet. Trinity College alone boasts 32 Nobel Prize winners: that is just one college of one university, part of our extraordinary higher education system.

It is also tremendous from a personal point of view to see that a previous vice-chancellor of Cambridge really pushed forward on sporting excellence alongside academic excellence. The two are not mutually exclusive. This did not limit sport only to rowing, rugby or cricket, and did not enable sportspeople to be only in the camp of rowing or land economy, but sat the two together and demonstrated through flexibility how you could have sporting and academic excellence alongside one another.

I will build on a lot of what the noble Lord, Lord Bilimoria, said about international students. This country should be saying, “We need, want and welcome international students from across the planet”. It is understandable that there was nervousness about them at a time when the economy was not in great shape, but that is of no consequence and is no excuse. Whatever the economic backdrop, we need, want and welcome international students. Of course we should not be naive about fake students, the conjured-up course and the non-existent institution, but those things are no reason to clamp down and shut the door on all that possibility. I do not want to be overly Rumsfeldian, but it is very difficult to say how many non-existent institutions exist. However, we do know how many fine, excellent and value-driven higher education institutions exist across Great Britain and Northern Ireland. They need the input, involvement and participation of international students for economic, social and political reasons in the short, medium and long term.

It was estimated that in 2012, in fees and living costs alone, international students contributed £10.2 billion to this country. If they stay on and work here, that contribution increases by multiples. If they go back to their own countries, what fabulous brand ambassadors for Great Britain they will be. Soft power is so essential, so misunderstood and has been so underdeveloped for so many years. The report by the ad hoc committee of this House clearly demonstrated that soft power is real power. International students can play a key role as ambassadors in that soft power agenda.

We currently gain around 13% of the international student market. That is good—we are in silver medal place behind the States—but there is so much more to be gained. Over the past nine years the figure for the States has dropped around 10%. We should go out there, grasp all the opportunities and say to international students, “The doors to great British institutions are open; come and be part of this. We want the brightest and the best students to study, to strive and to want a great British higher education”.

Employability, which for too many years has often been seen as the preserve of the careers office, underresourced and often undervalued, is now seen as absolutely critical—as significant as the degree award itself. That is not in any sense to be overly reductive; it is not about seeing education as merely learning to labour. It is about enabling an individual, alongside whatever academic course they are on, to gain employability skills, which will not just assist and potentially give that person the edge with their first job but will last throughout their entire career. The study shows that 80% or so of graduates in the UK are in employment six months after graduating. That is a good figure, although it could certainly improve. It is interesting that there is now an indicator which tracks this alongside degree results and other key indicators for our higher education institutions.

To move on to the specific, I will talk about BPP; my involvement with that institution is indicated in the register of interests. It is a university based on the delivery of professional courses in law, accountancy, business, nursing and health. It has developed extraordinarily over the past 15 years, gaining university status and constantly thinking about where the next edge in education is. It focuses on excellence: nine out of 10 of the worldwide prize winners in the CIMA exams studied at BPP. As regards employability, 96% of BPP graduates are in work six months after leaving, which is well ahead of the average figure I quoted some moments ago.

BPP delivers professional education to students who come from more than 50 countries from around the world. To the business point, it is connected with almost every one of the 100 FTSE companies. Business, international students and excellence are all wrapped up in one professional education offer; it is an incredible testament to the focus, drive and determination of its chief executive, Carl Lygo, who has driven this strategy for more than a decade.

In conclusion, higher education is the source of incredible innovation, the generator of global research, creator of jobs, driver of growth, and cornerstone of our soft power—it is nothing short of a gleaming gem right at the centre of our national crown. I salute it, I raise a glass to it, and am unstintingly committed to United Kingdom higher education.