The National Union of Students have forewarned of a devaluation in the quality of education in British universities.
Zamzam Ibrahim (left), in one of her first interviews since taking up her post as NUS president in July 2019, put a spotlight on overstretched academics teaching classes of more than 150 students, who pay up to £9,250 a year on tuition fees.
Moreover, she said the removal of the student numbers cap has increased the competition between universities to recruit – forcing them to prioritize the “dollar” over student experience.
Speaking to UK's The Independent – the interview was published on August 26, 2019 – Zamzam highlighted that universities are spending money on marketing and making sure their offers are “more attractive” in a fierce fight for survival.
She warned that some universities would have to close down in the near future amid financial pressures – which she argued are a result of the “marketization of education”.
I happen to think it is more the case of the McDonaldization of education, rather than the marketization of education.
If we market responsibly – more so because this is the education industry – there must be a social responsibility component which we incorporate in our marketing. Therefore, our marketing efforts must focus on appealing to our “consumers” (students) who want to make a positive difference with their “purchases” (university education).
Zamzam’s remarks came after a private higher education provider went into administration, leaving thousands of students looking for alternative places to study.
GSM London (formerly Greenwich School of Management) which have been providing degree programs to over 20,000 students over the last 39 years, had announced a couple of weeks ago that they would shut their doors as they had not been able to “recruit and retain sufficient numbers of students to generate enough revenue to be sustainable”.
The priority should be on students – but this had shifted towards making money above everything else. As such, Zamzam's contention that we are corrupting the education system.
Competition between the tertiary institutions to recruit students to courses has intensified as there are fewer 18-year-olds in the population and yet student numbers at universities remain uncapped.
This means more popular universities are taking higher numbers of students, while other institutions are struggling to fill their courses and generate enough income to be sustainable.
Some universities, it is said, are reportedly on the verge of bankruptcy amid declining student numbers.
Zamzam also expressed her concerns for the academics. She worried that they are under more pressure and are having to cover more lectures than they would on a normal day – and therefore, there is a real danger that this will negatively impact on the quality of education.
“That is a reality that most institutions are facing because they don’t have the money to be able to keep all the academics they would like”, she added.
One of her tasks as NUS president is to campaign for a fully funded education system – and she is planning to hold a national student strike to call for free education for all.
Jo Grady (left), general secretary of the University and College Union, said: “We share the concerns of NUS when it comes to a lack of resources, the damage marketization is doing to higher education and the pile ’em high, teach ’em cheap approach. Despite the formidable efforts of staff, they cannot keep giving more for less”.
She continued: “To ensure students can receive the very best education, universities have to invest resources in their number-one asset – their staff”.
It appears the Brits are also getting their priorities in education all amiss – just like in Malaysia.
No comments:
Post a Comment