Ei-iE

At its recent Congress, the University and College Union (UK) unveiled a new toolkit for members to campaign against the growing pressures of privatisation.

“We have one of the fastest growing private sectors in Europe and the level of private investment in tertiary education in the UK is already far above the EU and OECD averages,” stated UCU general secretary Sally Hunt. “The coalition government is committed to opening up the further and higher education sectors to 'new providers', especially those from the private sector.”

Hunt added that the UK government is committed to de-regulating the higher education sector in favour of private companies, creating what it calls a “level playing field” for profit-making companies.

UCU is concerned this will remove the academic checks and balances that protect standards in universities, allowing companies whose primary obligation is to their shareholders to drive down costs by weakening quality.

New toolkit here.