In dependence or Stagnat ion?

In dependence or Stagnat ion?Th e Impera t ives of Un iver sit yReform in th e United Kingdom

Dennis O’Keeffeand

Da vid Marsla nd

Civitas: Insti tu te for the Stu dy of Civil Society

London

First published November 2003

© The Inst i tut e for th e Stu dy of Civil Society 2003

The Mezzanine , El izabeth H ouse

39 York Road , London SE 1 7NQ

em a il: book s@civit a s.or g.u k

Civitas is a r egistered edu cational char ity (No. 1085494)

a n d a com pa n y li m it ed by gu a r a n t ee (N o. 040 23 54 1).

Civitas is f inanced from a va riety of privat e sources to

a void over -re lia n ce on a n y s in gle or sm a ll gr ou p of don or s.

A ll r igh ts reser ved

ISBN 1-903 386-32 2

Type set by Civit as

in N ew Ce n t u r y S ch oolbook

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Tr owbr idge, Wilt sh ire

v

C on t en t s

Page

Au thors vi

Foreword

Robert W helan viii

P a r t I

Th e Sou rces of Int ellectu al C orr up tion in

Br it is h H igh er E du ca t ion 1

Par t I I

A Purg ing of Confus ions , On a Supply

a n d D em a n d B a si s: W h a t ? W h o? H ow

Ma ny? Wh o Pa ys? an d Wh y? 29

Par t I I I

Op t ion s for P r iva t is a t ion 35

Glossary of Term s 64

vi

A u t ho r s

D a v i d M a rs la n d MA, P hD , FR SH , is d ir e ct or of r e s ea r ch

in t h e De p a r tm e n t of H e a lt h a nd Social Car e at B ru nel

Un ivers ity. H e wa s p rofe ss or of s oci a l sciences a t th e West

London I n s t itu te , as sist an t d ire ctor of th e Social Affair s

U n i t, a n d s e n ior r e s ea r ch o ffi ce r a t th e MVA Con su lta ncy.

H e w a s ed u ca t e d a t Wa t for d G r am m a r Sch ool, a t Ca m -

brid ge University , where he was c lass ics schola r a t Chr i st ’s

College, and a t LSE, where he s tudied sociology as a

postgrad ua te. H e h a s b ee n h on or a r y ge n er a l s ecr et a r y of

t h e Br it ish Sociological Association, on the social sciences

com m i t t e e of S E AC , a n d a m em be r of t h e U N E SC O s oci a l

sciences boar d. In 1991 he wa s t he firs t rec ip ie n t of t h e

Tha tcher A wa r d , p r e se n t e d for h is r e se a rch a n d w ri ti n g on

indiv idual i sm, freedom an d sta te op p r es sion. He has

r esear ched wid ely in sociol ogy, s ocia l p olicy a n d e du ca t ion ,

pu blish ing more than 200 scholar ly papers a n d some 20

books . His books include S eeds of Bank ruptcy, a cri t ique of

sociologists’ prejudices publ i shed in 1988 by Cla rid ge Press ,

a n d W elfa re or W elfa re S ta te?, a n a r gu m e n t for r a d ica l

welfa re refor m pu blish ed in 1996 by Ma cmilla n.

D e n n i s O’Ke effe is professor of social science at t h e

U n i ve r s it y of Bu ck i n gh a m a n d e d it or of Th e Salisbu ry

R evi ew . His pu blications in clude: T h e W ay w a rd C u rr icu -

lum , Socia l Affa ir s U n it , 19 85 ; tr a n sl a t ion T h e U n d oi n g of

T h ou g h t, (Alain F inkielk r aut ’s L a D efa it e d e la Pen see)

C la r id ge, 1988; Th e Waywa rd E lite: A Critiqu e of British

T ea ch er Edu ca tion , Ad a m Sm it h I n s ti tu t e , 1 99 0 a n d

T r u a n cy in E nglish S econdary S ch ools , DF E, 1 994. H is

t r a n s l a t ion of B en ja m i n Con st a n t ’s Pr in cip les of Pol it ics

(Pr in cip es de politiq u e) will be published by th e Liberty

Fu nd in J an ua ry 2 004. H e is a broad caster a n d j ou r n a l i st ,

spe cialisin g in econom ic sociology.

vii

Forew ord

Of a l l the soc ia l policy problems tha t face us , the failur e of

ou r e d u cation system is regard ed by ma ny as the m os t

serious, because of its long-term consequ ences. The purpose

of ed u ca t ion is to p a ss from on e ge n er a t ion t o t h e n ex t t h e

kn owledge a n d va l u es w h ich sus t ain th e cult ur e. If th is

ch a i n is weaken ed, and the l ink s between the gen er a t i on s

sta rt t o give, the prospects for the n ation look bleak.

F or t h is reason we a r e delighted to be ab le t o pres e n t th i s

compe lling es sa y, b y t wo of ou r lea di n g a ca de m ic th eoris t s ,

on the s ta te of our univers i t ies .

I t is n ow widely a ccepted th at edu cat ion st an da rd s h ave

fallen a t a l l l eve ls . As Professors O’Keeffe a n d M a r sl a n d

poin t ou t , s econ d a r y s ch ool s a r e h a vi ng to spe n d t im e

t e a ch i n g st u de n t s t h in gs th ey s h ou l d ha ve lea rn ed in

p r im a r y school, a n d u nive rs ities ha ve to t ea ch t he m ba sic

lea r n in g skil ls they sh ould have a cquired year s ear lier.

H ow e ve r , i t would be possible t o make a s p eci a l case for t h e

ser iousness of a fa ilu r e in th e t er t ia r y s t a ge of e du ca t ion ,

because un iversit ies are, or should be, th e repositories of

t h e h igh es t va lu es a n d t h e m ost pr ofo u n d l e ar n in g in t h e

n a t ion . Th ey a re ra th er like villa ges: we can ’t a ll live in

t h em , but we l ike to know th ey a r e t h e r e . T h e y a r e a s or t of

bar ometer te llin g u s s om et h in g a bou t t h e h e a lt h of t h e

cu l t u r e. F r o m t h is w e m u s t d e du ce t h a t ou r cu l t u r e i s v er y

s ick indeed .

T h e problems, which m ight not u nr easona bly be de-

scribed as a collapse of a sen se of pur pose in our u niver-

s i t ies , a r e so s e ve r e t h a t Simon J enkin s ha s spoken of a 30-

y ea r s war be tween the un ivers i t ies and the s ta t e . A pp a r -

en tly, the s ta te ha s won. O’Keeffe a n d M a r s la n d a t t r i b u t e

t h e p r ob le m s t o two in ter locking causes : t h e m a s s iv e ov er -

re gula tion o f the secto r , and t h e he avy d ep en d en ce on st a t e

fu n d ing wh ich gives Wh iteh all t he power it cr ave s t o tell

everyone e lse what to do . They sugges t , at th e en d of th eir

essa y, a ra nge of p r a ct i ca l s t ep s w h ich m u s t b e t a k e n t o

break th i s s t rang leho ld .

INDEP ENDE NCE OR S TAGNATION?viii

H o we ve r , t h e r e is an other t h em e to t h is wor k t h a t is even

m o r e int ere st ing. T h a t i s, wh a t do we t h in k un iversities a r e

for? To a cer ta in e xte nt it is difficult t o e ve n de ba t e th e

i ss u e wit h th ose w h o fra m e p u blic p olicy, be ca u s e we a r e

con d u ct in g a dia logue of the deaf . The r e a r e fu n d a m e n ta l

d iffe r en ces in t h e concept w h ich peop le h a v e of a un ive r s ity.

T h e g ov er n m e n t s e e m s t o t h i n k u n iv er s it ies improve th e

gross domest ic product . The outcome of th is v iew is the

con vict ion th a t th e m or e p eop le w h o go t o u n iv er s i t y, t h e

richer t h e na t ion will become. T h is n ot ion is so fu n d a men ta l

t o th e governmen t ’s r e ce n t Whit e Pa per in un ive r s it ie s t h a t

it i s t r e at e d a s if it wer e a n in disp ut ab le re alit y. Th is is in

s p it e of t h e fa c t t h a t it i s ba se d on n o evi de n ce w h a t s oe ve r .

C r a m m in g u n i ve r s it i es w it h lar ge number s of people who

h a v e n o bu rn ing u rge t o be th ere , but th ink th ey m ight a s

well go becau se it is ‘free’ (in t h e se n se t h a t t h e l a r ge r p a r t

of th e costs is bor ne by t axp aye rs ), will n ot n ecess ar ily

in cr ease p rodu ctivity. Th is is pa rt icula rly t ru e if th ey ar e

t a k in g cours es in wh at th e a ut hor s call ‘soft s ocial scie n ce

a n d the p olit ically corrup ted a rts ’ (p. xx13). However, even

if they were to swit ch t omor row t o ‘pr oper ’ cours es in

scie n ce or economics, that would not solve all of the prob-

lems in ou r univers i t ies , because a t rue u nivers i ty does not

exis t t o b oos t GD P . As t h e aut hors say, the most we ca n , or

shou ld , hope for by wa y of a conn ection bet ween aca dem ia

a n d econom ic pr odu ctivit y is t h a t t h e for m er wil l n ot

act ively u n d er m i n e t h e l a t t er . T h e r e a l p u rp os e of a u n i ve r -

s it y is ‘th e adva ncem e n t of k n ow le dg e a n d t h e cr e a ti on of

vir t u e’ (p. xx 11 ).

T h a t sou nd s fain tly r idicu lous now, becau se we ar e

emba rra ssed t o t a l k a bou t v ir t u e , b u t t h a t is p a r t of t h e

problem. As the a ut hors sa y, in words t ha t sh ould be

en gr aved over t he port als of acad em e, an d id ea lly in t he

hear t s of v ice-chancellors :

For universities t o be proper institut ions of learnin g and cultur e,the et hos wh ich dom i n a t es t hem mu st be fou nd ed on t he love ofwis dom , goodness and bea uty. Unless lar ge number s of people arefascina ted by the idea of knowledge for i ts own sake, the search for

O’K E E F F E A N D MA RS L AN D ix

mora l goodness a nd th e pursu it of the bea ut iful, u n ive r si t ie s cannever be more than a ph ilis ti ne bet ra ya l of t he bes t d re am s of ou ran ces tor s (p . xx3 4).

As long as th e govern men t continues to regard un iver-

sit ies as ma chines for g en e r a ti n g t h e higher e a r n in g s w h ich

will provide the t reasu ry w it h m o r e t a x es , w h ich i n t u r n

will fund t he governm ent’s vision (i .e. more welfar e ser-

vice s), w e a r e goin g t o get n owh er e w it h th e b u si n es s of

un ive r s ity r efor m . T h a t is w h y t h e pr op os a ls w h ich O’Keeffe

a n d M a r s la n d p u t for w a r d for cu t t in g th e u m bil ica l cor d of

subs idy t h a t con n ect s a ca d e m ia t o t h e s t a t e a r e s o i m p or -

tan t . I f un iversit ies are n ot indepen dent , then ther e is n ot

m u ch p oi n t i n h av in g th e m a t a ll .

Robert W helan

Deputy Director , C iv itas

Part I

The Sou rces of Intel lectu al Corruption inBri t i sh Higher Educat ion

1 See for e xam ple, Roger Scru ton ‘The Idea of a Un ivers ity’, The

S ali sbu ry R eview , vol. 20, no. 1, Autu mn 2001, pp. 4-8.

2 Kennet h Minogue ‘The Collapse of the Academic in Britain’ in Jam es

Tooley (ed.), Buckin gham at 25 , IEA 2001, p. 86.

3

In tr odu c t ion

T h e pa r lou s cond i t ion o f Br i t i sh h i g h e r e d u c a t i o n i s

a fu nc t ion of th e sup pr ess ion of th e ma rk e t

T h e r e i s wide a g re em e n t t h a t Br i t ish high er edu cat ion is

in a pa r lou s sta te.1 T h e r e is m u ch les s a gr ee m en t a bou tw h a t is wrong, and s t i l l less as t o w h a t t o d o a b ou t i t .

Professor K en n eth Minogue’s recent essay i l lus t ra tes a t

lengt h a t h em e h e ar ticulates in t h e v er y firs t pa r a gr a ph , t o

t h e e ffe ct t h a t t h e a ca demi c life of th e coun tr y ha s col-

l apsed .2 We wou l d a gree certain ly that the h elter-skelter

expa ns ion of t h e te r t ia r y s ect or in r e ce n t de ca d es h a saccompanied and r eflected an in te l lectua l cr i s i s .

On t h e view tak en in t h is p a p e r, t h e two ce n t r al organisa -

t ion a l ills of our u nive rs ity s ector ar e its excess ive r egu la-

t ion b y t h e st a t e a n d its un du e de pen den ce on t he pu blic

pur se. Some r ea der s m ay s igh a t t his jun ctu re , seein g in

these proposit ions only the comm onplace gr ou s in g ofcon serva t ives . Th e oste ns ible ba na lity is q uickly d issolved,

however , if we rework our bas ic te rms.

On inspection, i t will be seen t h a t excessive r egu la t ion of

higher e du ca t ion by t h e s t a t e a n d i t s e xces si ve d ep en de n ce

on s t a t e largesse, together reconst i tute—tha t is to say th ey

r a d ica l ly a lt e r —t h e con d i t ion s of s u p p ly a n d d em a n d . I t is

n e ce s sa r y qu ite ofte n, w he n on e consid er s t he pr oblems of

m o de r n socia l a dm in is t r a t ion , t o ext r a ct a n econ om ic cor efrom a given mass of con s id er a t ion s a n d e xp r e s s i t a t a h i gh

level of a bs t r a cti on . On th is ba si s cou n t er fa ctu a l r efle cti on

ca n b e m ou n t e d, som etim es p oint ing t o salu ta ry p ossibili-

INDEP ENDE NCE OR S TAGNATION?4

3 Pr ecisely th is kin d of coun ter factua l evalu at ion an d policy chan ge

un de rl ay th e T ha tch er gove rn me nt ’s as ton ish in gly s ucc es sfu l

privat isation a ctivities, which have left th e UK with what is today by

far th e str ongest economy in Eu rope.

t ies of re form .3 Sa d t o sa y, r a t h er few wr it in gs on ed u ca -

t ion a l a d m i n is t r a t i on en gage in th is process . The adm inis -

t r a t i ve i m a gi n a ti on t h u s r e m a in s m o r e or less pe rmanen t ly

tra pped in t he s ta t u s q u o.

P u b l i c f i n a n c e c h a n g e s t h e e d u c a t i o n a l c a l cu lu s o f

s c a r c i t y a nd choice a n d t h e com posi t ion of t h e curr i c -

u l u m

In t h is in st a n ce we m a y in fer , coun te rfa ctu a lly, t h a t t h ehigher e du ca t ion marke t , thu s const ra ined, will genera te a

d iffe r en t ca lcu lu s of s ca r cit y and choice from the one t ha t

wou l d em erge in t he pr esen ce of un su bsid ised s up ply a nd

demand . Sp ecifica lly, th e b a si c de cisi on s t o a bs t a in orpa r t icipa te in h igh er ed u cat ion , to con su m e, t o sa ve, t o

inves t or n o t in r e l a t ion t o higher e du ca tion, will be altered

by t h e p r es en ce of s t a t e re gula tion a n d s t a t e fund i n g . So too

will th e p a t t er n of cur r icu la r pa t h wa ys ch ose n th r ou gh th e

higher ed u ca t ion exp er ien ce b y va r iou s s t u de n t de cisi on -

mak ers . I f t h e y a r e subs idised they will mak e differentsubject ch oice s fr om t h e ones they would ma ke on th e ba sis

of thei r own res our ces. It is because s ta te int erference an d

pu blic fu n d s di st or t s u pp ly a n d d em a n d , b eca u s e t h e y lea d

to a s u b-op t im a l a lloca t ion of r es ou r ce s t o h i gh e r edu cat ion ,t h a t they a re , and mus t be unders tood a s , or g an i sa t ion a l

defects . T h is d oe s n ot m e a n t h a t as a society we wi ll neces-s a r il y plum p for a free -m a r k et ve rs ion of th e u nive rs ity

wor ld , an y m ore t ha n w e will in t h e ca s e of p r im a r y a n d

s e con d a r y educat ion. Indeed, we need to recal l as we seek

t o em a n cip a t e h igh er ed u ca ti on from it s s t r a it -ja cke t ofgovern men t reg ula tion an d pu blic mon ey, th at in t he

b a ck gr ou n d loom s th e in t imate ly conn ected a n d even l a r ger

i ss u e of p r e -u n i ve r s it y edu cat ion. Th is in its tu rn is s t r a n -

gled with cent ra lisin g b u r ea u cr a cy a n d depen d en cy on s t a te

fina nces, w it h t h e a d d it i on a l p r ob le m t h a t a l a r ge pa rt of it

is s u b je ct t o comp uls ory a tt end an ce, tha t h uge an d u ne x-plor ed sou rce of pr odu cer -cap tu re in a ll t h e fr ee s ociet ies .

O’K E E F F E A N D MA RS L AN D 5

T h e p u b l i c i s n ot y et r e a d y fo r p r i va t e h i g h er e d u -

ca t ion

Clea rly, plu m pin g for a free m a r k et in educat ion is precisely

w h a t we as a s ociety h ave not don e, eith er at un iver sit y or

a t pr im ar y/second ar y level. We h ave ar gua bly on t h econ t r a r y decided to cherish t h e de fect s of orga n isa t ion , qu it e

overt ly p r efe r r in g su b-opt im ali t y. T h e p u b li c a s a whole a re

pr obab ly not rea dy for pr ivat e high er edu cat ion in p ract i ce,

even if t h ey p r efer pr iva t e s ch oolin g—a t th e p r im a r y or

s e con d a r y levels—in a sp ir a t ion . In th e a bs en ce of r es ea r ch

it would be a fair bet th at m ost Brit ish un iversity teacher sa n d ad m inis tr at ors r eject p riva tely fina nced h i gh e r ed u ca -

tion even as an aspira t ion. In h i gh e r e du ca t i on t h e p r efe r -

e n ce u n i ti n g p r a ct i t ion e r s a n d pu blic seems indeed t o be for

m a x im u m enrolments , m or e tha n would occur were fees

su bst an tia lly h i gh er a t t h e p oi n t of u s e , u n l es s t h er e w er e

a si gn ifica n t cha nge in th e ta x-régim e, one lea ving t axp ay-er s w it h sig n ifican tl y h igh er dis pos a ble in come s.

W h y i s Br i t i sh edu ca t ion pub l i c l y f ina nced an d s t a t e -

d r i v e n ?

We h a v e sa i d t h a t t h e pu b l ic for t h e most p a r t con cu r s wit ht h e govern men t on pu blic fina nce of higher lear ning. We

s h a ll l a t er e xplor e t h e h a b it u a l e le m e n t t h a t p e r m it s t h eper pet ua tion of poli cy e r r or . T h e b a ck gr ou n d a s su m p t ion s

d rivin g th e p u bli c fin a n ce a n d s t a t e p r om ot ion of t h e

e du ca t ion a l exercise a r e a lso cruc ia l . One i s the i r repress-

ible not ion t ha t t he ma n in Wh iteh all k n o ws b es t , a n ot ion

fun ctiona lly fortified by h i s also h a v in g access t o ou r m on e y.

We should never forget the sheer de l ight tha t socia l is t s

h a v e in spen ding other people’s resour ces. Brit ish higher

edu cat ion pol icy was a ls o for l on g d r ive n by a lu di cr ou sover es t im a t ion of t h e pot e n ti a l pe r for m a n ce of t h e com -

mun is t econ om ies . Th is too con n ected wit h t he Wh iteh all

hu bris , com m u n i s m b ei n g t h e s ys t e m ex t r a or d in a r y for t h e

fisca l exp loit a t ion a n d i d eologica l bu llyi n g a n d op pr es si on

of ever yone ou ts ide t he nar row nom enklatu ra . T er e n ce

Kealey has succ inc t ly exposed this obsession. The belief

d u r in g the 1950s and 1960s—p r om u lga t ed by T h om a s

INDEP ENDE NCE OR S TAGNATION?6

4 Lionel R obbins , Hi gh er E du cati on , HMSO, 1963

5 Ter ence K eale y ‘Back to th e Fu tu re’ in Tooley, Buckin gham at 25 , 2001,

especially pp. 240-41.

B a logh a n d C.P . Sn ow, a ccep t ed by p olit icia n s s u ch a s

A n eu r i n B ev a n a n d H a r ol d W il son , a n d in fl u en ci n g e ve n a

distingu ished a ca d em ic econom ist like Lionel Robbin s in h is

fa m ou s r e p or t 4—was t ha t th e Soviet Un ion and the oth er

socialis t econom ies w ou l d even tu ally, even soon , ou t p e r form

t h e w e st e r n economies. We sh a r e t h e view of Dr Kealey t h a ts u ch a pos i t ion was a lways b izar re ly absur d , but i t ce-

men ted into a solidity, difficult to cha llenge or circumven t,

t h e destr uctive notion tha t th e Brit ish sta te m ust be

pr oactive in m at ter s ed uca tion al. 5

T h e f u l l b e n e f i t s o f e d u c a t i o n a l p r i v a t i s a t i o n w o u l d

r e q u ir e t h e in c l u si o n of p r i m a r y a n d s e c on d a r y

edu ca t ion

I t m u s t be s a id t h a t p r ivat isa tion of univ er sit ies w ill ma ke

full sen se, a nd ha ve its full im pa ct, only w he n it form s pa r t

of a gen er a l p r iva t is a t ion of ed u ca t ion. Ana lysis can be

m a de a n d p ol icy p re s cr i pt i on s p r oposed, on t h e a s sumpt ion

t h a t th e ea rlie r s ta ges of edu cat ion r em ain u n pr iv at ised ,b u t in t h is case t h a t ana lysis a n d those p r es cr ip t ion s will be

m u ch m o r e t im id a n d loca l . We accept t h is lim it a t ion for t h e

m om e n t , a n d w ill a ss u m e t h a t th e t ot a l ve n t u r e is n ot in

prospect yet . I t will n ot be possible to exclude considera t ionof p r im a r y a n d s econ d a r y ed u ca t i on fr om o u r dis cu ss ion ,

bu t w e will k eep it t o a fun ctiona l min im um .I t is well worth while pr oceed ing w ith un iver sit y

p r iv a ti sa t ion , h o we ve r , even with t h e rest of t h e e du ca t ion a l

s t r u ct u r e left la rge ly as it is . I n t h e ca s e of t h e t er t i a r y

s e ct or , a s w e s h a ll s ee , som e of t h e b a si c condit ion s foru n d er t a k in g t h e ta sk ar e a l ready in p lace . It i s perhaps a

good pla ce t o begin the p rivatisa tion of the wh ole system .

O u r a im in t his pa per is bot h t o concept ua lise t he circu m -

sta nces an d ident ify some of t h e shor tcomings of Br i t i sh

univers i t ies , a n d t h e n ex pl a in h ow we m ight begin to righ t

t h e si tu a t ion .

O’K E E F F E A N D MA RS L AN D 7

6 Guardian , 21 May 2002, pp. 1-2.

7 Guardian , 21 May 2002, pp. 8-9.

F i n a n c i a l s t r in g e n ci e s a n d o ld a ca d em i c h iera rch ies

T h e news fr om ou r un iversities seem s t o g et m or e wor r yi n g

by t h e d a y. In l a t e M a y 20 0 2 i t wa s r e p or t e d in t h e G u a rd -

ian tha t some 1 ,400 univers ity jobs were a t r i sk owing t o

t h e fall in s tu den t n u m b e r s a n d i n a d eq u a t e bu d g et a r y

se t t lements . Appl icat ions cont inu ed to r ise , but th ere was

a fa l l i n th e num bers of 16 -18 yea r old s i n fu ll-t im e e du ca -t ion , t h is p r es a gi n g a l a t e r fa l l i n u n d e r gr a d u a t e num bers .

J obs a n d r es ea r ch we r e t o be cu t a cr oss th e cu r r icula rboard . Th e m edica l an d de nt al w ork a t Qu een Ma ry a nd

Wes tfield Colle ge, L ond on, a p p ea r ed to be th rea tened .

Oth er un ivers it ies wh er e s cien ce t ea ch in g or r es ea r ch or

m ed ica l tea chin g or r e s ea r c h we r e fa c ed i n 20 0 2 w it h

p r u n in g in clu de Bir m in gh a m , Ki n g’s C olle ge, Lon don a n d

t h e U n i ve r si ty of M a n ches t er In sti tu te of Science andTechn ology. Many lower -r an kin g an d m idd le-ra nk in g

un iversit ies a r e n ow con fron t ed wit h fal ls in th eir r es ea r ch

budgets . T h e N a t ion a l Association of Teachers in Fu rth er

a n d Higher Edu ca t ion (N AT F HE) sa ys t he ne wer un iver si-

ties ar e losing ou t ba dly.6

An ot h er news i tem in the sam e paper a rgues t h a ts om e t h in g v er y like t h e old b in a r y system is m a k in g it s wa y

b a ck . Les s pr est igious un iver sit ies in some in s t a n ce s a r e

resigned t o think ing of them selves as ‘teachin g-led’. T h e r e

seems to be a defin ite p olicy for concen tr at ing r esea rch inm o r e pres t ig ious ins t i tu t ions . Sir Howard N ewby is re-

ported as ha ving qu est ion ed wh et h er u n ive r si t ies n ot

en ga ging in H igher Educa t ion F u n d in g C ou n ci l for E n g la n d

(H E F C E ) fu n d ed r es ea r ch s h ou ld be a l lowed to award

PhDs. The cur ve of t r a d it ion a l h i er a r ch y t h u s seems n o w t o

poin t rem orselessly upwar d aga in. Oxford, for examp le,

seems to h ave been defen din g its elf of la t e b y cr e a t in g it s

ve r y own a nd very lar ge fun d-raising cultur e.7 Wr on gly or

righ tly, it s e em s ve r y u n l ik e ly in t h e n ea r fu t u r e th a t a n y

u n iversit ies out side th e sele ct few will b e a ble t o im i ta t e

th is .

INDEP ENDE NCE OR S TAGNATION?8

8 Th e Fu tu re of H igh er E du cati on , Jan uar y 2003. For point (v) above see

especially p. 57.

I t h a s t o b e sa i d t h a t t h e J a n u a r y 2 00 3 Wh i t e P a p e r

confirm s these gen er al s us picions. In s om e re spect s it seeks

t o accentua te t h e h i er a r ch y of in st it u t ion s wh ich in evit ab ly

exis t s a l re a dy . T h e a ca d em ic h i er a r ch y will be resh aped by

t h e add it ion of a new 6* r at ing for d epa rt m en ts wit h ‘world

class r e se a r ch ’. Scien tific r e s ea r ch is sin gled ou t for esp ecia lem ph as is a n d i t is r eit er a t ed th r ou gh ou t t h e en t ir e docu -

m e n t th at th er e m us t be a s ym biosis b etw een hig h er

educat ion and busin ess. The new s et-up will comprise:

(i) A han dful of éli te resear ch un iversit ies

(ii) A gr ou p of le a di n g r egi on a l u n ive r si t ies r es ea r ch in g

a n d t ea ch i n g

(iii) Som e u nive rs ities concent ra tin g on t ea chin g

(iv) S om e for m e r h ig her edu cat ion colleges h a v in g be com eun iver sit ies bu t on ly for un der gra du at e te ach ing

(v) S om e fu r t h e r e du ca t ion colleges t ea ch i n g v a ri ou s

work -focused tw o-year foun da tion degr ees, in an

un inhibited r ecogn it ion th a t th e p r im a r y fu n cti on of

ed u ca t ion is econ om ic.8

By t h e sum mer of 2003 some of this h ierar chical re-ar ra nging ha d ta ken more definite sha pe. It is n ow wide ly

accepted t h a t som e ‘un ive r si t ies ’ wil l ex is t pu r ely for

t e a ch i n g pu rp oses. T his would seem to m ar k a rea l cha nge

in t he official Br itish conception of the ‘un ivers ity’.

B r i t is h u n i v e r s i t i e s a r e p r i v a t e i n s t i t u t i o n s t h a t a c t

l i k e s t a t e in s t it u t i on s

T h e r e is n oth ing n ew in th e in h er en tly a m b ig u ou s a n d

u n s a t i sfa ct or y st a tu s of ou r u n iver sit ies . I t i s s im p l y t h a t

t h is now sh ows u p m ore vi vid l y t h a n before becaus e the

s ca l e of thei r act ivitie s h a s so e xp a nde d. T h e d ep en de n ce of

ou r un ivers it i e s on the pub l ic purse mat te red m u ch less

when th e sca le of t h eir a cti vit ies wa s m u ch sm a lle r . N ow

t h a t th e n u m be r of pe opl e e n t er in g h igh er ed u ca t ion h a s

increased so enormously , the governm ent-paymaster , des-

O’K E E F F E A N D MA RS L AN D 9

9 Simon J enk ins, ‘Lonely pip er p lays on above t he b loody bat tle’, The

T imes Higher Educa t ion Supplemen t, 8 March 2002, p. 18.

10 Thes e condition s ar e th at nu mber s in h igher educa tion s hould rem ain

mod es t a nd th at th e s yst em it se lf sh oul d s te er clea r of i nt elle ctu al

corruption or subversion. The vast present and even la rger pr edicted

—and in officialdom’s terms—desirable, en r ol m en t s sp e ak fo r t h e m -

sel ves . Mor e im por ta nt , cons ide ra ble a re as of hig he r e du cat ion a re

ideologically corru pted. Teacher edu cation was for long one such ar ea

an d t he te ach in g of soci ology r em ai ns an oth er . Th is cor ru pt ion can

itse lf be rega rde d as yet a not her inde x of economic inefficiency.

per at ely a n d r a t h er fu t ile ly s ee ki n g wa ys to g et va lu e for

t h e t a x pa y er s ’ p ou n d , h a s d r a gg ed t h e u n ive r si t ies in t o a

d a m a gi n g a n d disp irit ing n e t w or k of b u re a u cr a t i c p r e scr ip-

t ion .

S im on J en ki n s h a s d es cr ibe d t h e r ece n t h is t or y of ou r

un iversit ies a s a ‘T h ir t y Ye a r s W a r ’ b et w ee n t h ems elvesa n d the s tat e.9 J e n k i n s b el ie ve s t h a t un t il the m id-1970s

Br i t i sh u n i ve r siti es h ad extr aor din ar y au ton omy. Th eir

pu blic fu n d in g wa s un -audited. Academic staff had t enu re.

T h e syst em wa s, he believe s , t h e w or ld ’s m ost lu xu r iou s

h ighe r edu cat ion system , en joying a golden age. Fu nda men -

t a ll y th e u nive rs ities slid in to t he ir p re sen t, lon g-last in gd ifficulties when it be ca m e appa ren t , cru cially in the 1970s ,

t h a t G re a t Br it a in h a d been l iving beyond h er m e a n s. T h e

sole good Jenkins de tec ts a t the end of th is ‘war’ i s tha t

un iversities a r e m o r e accoun table, w or k ha rder a n d a r e less

wa st eful.

T h is a n a l ys is is n ot v er y con v in cin g. S p en d t h r ift a n dcare less govern men ts do not bes t ow r e a l a u t on om y on t h e

act ivitie s th ey fina nce—t he y me rely e n cou ra g e t h e in s t it u -

t ion s supp orted to carr y out th ose a ctivit ies ir res pons ibly.

An a lt er n a t ive exp la n a t ion to J en ki n s’s ch a r a cte r is a t ion

w ou l d b e t o s a y t h a t n ow , w h en t h e scale of ‘h i gh e r ed u ca -

t ion ’ h a s grown so large th at even the im men sely richer

n a t i on th a t th e T h a t ch er r evol u t ion ef fected cannot eas i ly

fu n d i t publicly, the s tat e, following a long series of panics ,h a s effectively ca l le d i n it s m a r ke r s, d em a n d in g th a t t h a t

w h ich it h as long be en pa ying for it sh ould als o contr ol.

Reli an ce on publ ic funds w a s alwa ys a d a n ge r ou s g am e , a n d

t h e con d it ion s t h a t wou l d m a k e pu b li c fi n a n ci n g of e d u ca -t ion even vague ly viab le have long passed .10

INDEP ENDE NCE OR S TAGNATION?10

11 Kea ley, ‘Back to th e Fu tu re’ in Tooley, Buckin gham at 25 , 2001,

p. 235.

12 Niall F ergu son, ‘Dream ing Spir es an d Spee ding Modem s’ in Tooley,

Buckin gham at 25 , 2001, p. 182.

13 Alan Ryan, ‘Why I think no rat ional person should become an

acad emic in Brit ain ’, THES , 31 May 2002.

14 Ton y Dick son , ‘UK u ni ver sit ies an d t he st at e: a Fa us ti an ba rg ai n?’,

Economic Affairs, vol. 21, no. 3, September 2001, p. 25.

Un iversit ies oug h t t o becom e p ri va te a ga in . In t h is

cou n t r y t h ey a re n ot form ally s t a t e inst i tut ions. They a r e on

t h e con t r a r y pr ivate in st it u ti on s t h at h av e lost th eir i n d e-

p en d en ce. Dr Kealey locates t h i s los s a s fa r b a ck a s t h e F i r st

World W a r .11 L ook i n g b a ck on t h e 1 96 0 s, wh e n t h e s t a t e

p rovid ed 90 per cent of the income of univers i t ies ,12 it i ssu re ly poss ib le for us to see the i r respons ib i li ty of those

years as a k ind o f bogus independence . The g radua l bu i ld -

u p of in t er ven t ion s sin ce th en me re ly reflect s t he da wn ing

r e a li sa t i on in t he ad m inis tr at ive m ind th at som e re inin g

ba ck of resou rces w as going t o prove n ecessa ry.

T h e lack of inde pe n de n ce h a s be com e vivi dl y a pp a r en t ofl a t e, as most un iversit ies ha ve been ha ra ssed by a te di ou s

system of a u d i t in g a n d r e gu l a t ion m o r e n o t ew or t h y a s a

s t ron g i r r it a n t t h a n a s a s ou n d a n a l yt i c m e a s u r e of w h a t is

ha ppe nin g. Professor Alan Ryan of Oxford , a wel l -known

supp orter of a m o r e m a r k e t -d r iv en a pproach t o higher

e du ca t ion , believe s t h a t t h e p re s en t ré gim e is so intolerabl et h a t n o r a t i on a l p er s on w ou l d wor k in Brit ish higher

e du ca t ion , which i s beset by ‘the incoherence and stup id ity’

of gove r n m en t pol icy a n d the ‘incessan t int erference by

m a n a g e r s an d officialdom’. Ryan sees t he a verage u niver-

s it y teacher a s a n underpa id dr u dg e, fa ced wit h th e li ke s of

Ma rga ret Hodge an d H owar d N ewby. 13

T h e ir ri ta n t i s s o irk som e, in de ed , th a t th e m ore p re st i-

giou s u n ivers ities , spe ar he ad ed b y th e LS E, d ecided in

ea r l y 20 01 t o t h r ow off t h e d is pe n sa t ion of t h e Q u a li ty

As s u ra n ce Agency.14 T h e l a t t er involves, a s m ost u nive rs ity

t e a ch e r s will kn ow to th eir cost , both int ru sive inspect ion

a n d t i m e-con s u m in g pr e pa r a t ion . Aca d em i cs fr om v a r iou s

ot h er univers i t ies come and inspect one’s records . The

O’K E E F F E A N D MA RS L AN D 11

15 Dennis O’Keeffe recalls that a visitation dur ing 2001, at the t hen

University of North London, demanded detailed syllabuses and

rea ding list s for plan ned cour ses far awa y in th e futu re, a wholly

un rea l exercise, ign oring s uch va ria ble feat ur es as th e on-going

thinking of individual teachers and th e appearance of new books and

novel argumen ts. Who in his or her r ight mind would prep are a

booklist for a course not due to be taught for nine months?

16 The T imes Higher Educa t ion Supplemen t, 20 Ju ne 2003, p. 14. We

thin k th e collegiate syst em th e very core of Oxbridge excellence, but

finan cial st ra its p rodu ce wish ful th ink ing from th ose th ey afflict.

17 The Wh ite P aper of Jan ua ry 2003 is quit e shot th rough with th is

a s sumpt ion .

ex er cise dem an ds a high ly pr escrip tive conform ity. 15 T h e

on-going p a t t er n of h a ra ssm en t be set tin g our un iver sit y

t e a ch i n g is exces sive gover nm en t in te r fe r en ce com b in e d

w it h the en forced pa r s imony to wh ich he l t e r - skelter

expa ns ion in s tuden t nu mbers has l ed . I n th e e ve n t , b ot h

t h e u n i ve r sit ies them selves and t he st uden ts wh o atten d

th em a r e ch a n g in g th e ir b eh a v iou r in t h e light of fina ncia l

a n d econ om ic cir cu m st a n ce. B y s u m m er 20 03 Ox for d w a s

r eported a s consid er ing an ‘Ivy Le agu e’ st ra teg y of focusin g

on p os t -g r ad u at es , r a t h er th a n u n de r gr a du a t es , a n d of

s h ift in g t h e in t ell ect u a l d r ive of th e U n ive r si t y a wa y fr om

its col leg ia te bas is an d towards faculty-led a r r a ngements .16

At the sa m e ti m e t h e U n it e d Ki n gd om G r a d u a t e Ca r e e rs

Su rve y re vea ls r e cor d numbers of g ra d u a t es wh o p r efe r t h e

prospect o f pos t -g radua te s tudy t o em ploym en t. Ove ra ll,

h o we ve r , t h e r e a r e a s p ect s of ou r o ve r s t r et ch e d u n i ve r s it y

life tha t a re even worse t h a n t h e fa ct t h a t u n i ve r s it i es a r e

s e r ia l ly h a r a s s e d in t h e i r w or k .

H i g h er e d u c a t i on i s ec on o m i c a l ly op a q u e

T h e r e is a bove a ll t h e p r oble m of econ om ic op a cit y, for

examp le. We do n ot be lon g to t h e persu a sion t h a t hold s t h a t

t h e purp ose of e du ca t ion is t o creat e e con om ic gr owt h .17 We

t h i n k , more mod est ly, t h a t it would be good if edu cat ion d i d

lead t o e con om i c g row t h , or a t l ea s t d id n ot i m p ed e it ,provided it fir st se cu r ed it s p h ilos oph ica l pu r p os es in t h e

a d va n ce m en t of kn owledge a n d t h e crea t ion of virt ue. W h enit comes t o econ om i c g row t h , h ow ev er , t h e tr u t h is t h a t

INDEP ENDE NCE OR S TAGNATION?12

18 Few politicians h ave questioned all th is. It is common t o hear

politicians of all stripes talking as if access to universities and

hos pit al s we re a k in d of pr es en t w e ca n a wa rd our se lves for s uch

economic growth as we a s a na tion achieve. In a genera lly market ised

dispensation, universities would, on the contrary, swiftly optimise

th eir out put , th eir cont ribu tion t o nat ional intellectual life, by a

rat ional response to the pa tter n of scarcity. We believe tha t

intellectual and economic optimality would prove to be quite close. So

great, however, is the fiscal contribution to tertiar y education made

by the stat e in all advanced economies, that the question of what part

un ivers ities play in economic de velopme nt is virt ua lly un an swer able.

because ou r u n iversit ies are so depen dent on sta te finan ce,

th eir overa ll imp act is ha rd to a sse ss. R at he r t ha n p ar tici-

p a t in g d irect ly i n t h e econ o m ic p r og r es s of t h e la s t 24 year s

in th is cou n t r y, a pr ogr es s d r ive n la r gel y by pr iva t is a t ion ,

u n i versit ies ha ve pr eferr ed over wh elm ingly t o rely on

in di r ect access to the weal th crea ted , v ia f isca l means .18

They h a ve t h er eb y m a de it im po ss ib le for a n a s se ss m en t t o

be m a d e of t h e ir ow n con t r ib u t ion t o t h a t r en e we d a ffl u -

ence. In dee d, t he y ha ve r edu ced t he m selve s t o su pp lica n t

s ta tu s . U n d er op t im a l con diti ons one m ight ind eed claim

t h a t wh a t wou ld th en be th e m a in econ om ic fu n cti on of

universi t ies , na mely s op h is t ica ted h u m a n ca p it a l format ion ,m akes a m a jor con t r ibu t ion to econom ic development . Given

th eir hu ge de pen den ce on pu blic fun din g, howe ver , it is

h a r d n ot to se e th eir exp an sion a s m an ifestin g in gr ea t

m e a s u r e a p ub lic pre feren ce for edu cat iona l con su m pt ion .

T h e cl a im t h a t p u bl ic e xp en d it u r e on h i gh e r ed u ca t ion is

‘investm ent’ is , under presen t circumst an ces, fraud ulent .

P u b l i c fi n a n c e a n d t h e s o ci o -e c on o m y o f k n o w l e d g e

We m a y divide a l l econom ic activit y, seen from th e perspec-

t i ve of d e m a n d , i n t o con s u m p t i on , wh i ch i s t h e a c t iv it y

pur sued for t he en joymen t it yields now; in ves tmen t , w h ich

is th e a cti vit y en ga ged in n ow for th e a n t i ci pa t e d fu t u r e

in com e a n d e n joy m e n t it will yie ld ; and wa s te , which i s the

u s in g up of scarce r esou rces wit h o u t ei ther of these two

kinds of demand be ing fu l fi ll ed .

T h e publ ic finan cing of edu cat ion in a fr ee societ y is

ch a ra cterised by radical reconsti tu tion of thes e thr ee

econom ic div isions. When production is publicly finan ced

O’K E E F F E A N D MA RS L AN D 13

t h e r is k s a r e di m in is h e d a n d t h e con su m pt ion m ot iva t ion

e n h a n ced , be ca u se th e con su m er is n ot u si n g h is own

resources . By definit ion, at t he sa me t ime th e investm ent

element i n th e ca lcu lu s i s d ep r es se d. W h et h er th e s u bje ct

ma tter is sociology (t e n di n g to con s u m p t ion ) or a ccou n t a n cy

(t e n di n g to i n ves t m en t ), th e fa ct t h a t th e d ecis ion s em pl oy

resour ces ra ised from t h i r d par t ies , a lso enh an ces t h e wast e

e le m e n t , ne i ther consu m pt ion n or in ves t m en t ta ki n g p la ce

a s efficien tly as th ey wou ld were th e tra nsm ission private.

T h is u n de r st a n di n g is pe r h a ps th e m ost im por t a n t on e

w it h wh ich th e s ocio-econ om y (a lt er n a t ive Sch u m p et e r ia n

vocabu lar y ‘econ om ic sociology’) of kn owledge can fur nis h

e du ca t ion a l policy-mak ers. I t is a h u g e a n d un explored a r ea

of p ot e n ti a l r e se a r ch .

High er e d u c a t i on a n d the s t r an ge a nd perv er se

econom ics o f pub l i c f ina nce

T h e r e a r e too m a n y pe opl e a t u n ive r si t y be ca u se th e p r ice

of u n i ve r sit y ed u ca t ion faci n g p ot en t ia l con su m er s i s t oo

low. When activit ies are s ocialised the norma l workings of

su pp ly a n d d em a n d a r e su bve r t ed . P r ice ce a se s t o r econ cile

su pp ly and dema nd in the case of the goods a ffec ted . In

s om e ci r cu m s t a nces th e dis tin ction b etw een th e tw o is

lar gely broken down as t hey ar e i n s t ead effectively in te-

gra ted . The r ise of a n t in om i a n socia l s cien ce is a good ca se

of t h is lat t er tr end. Su bsidised sup ply and subsidised

d em a n d resu lt in m ore or less the sa me pa mper ed ideolog-

ica l consum er i sm for t eachers ( supp lie r s ) and s tu den t s

(consumers) a l ik e . D e m a n d for t h e an tinomia n cultu re is

cosseted and consumer ised and ga th ered to the sup ply

pr efer en ces of te a ch er s of li ke pe r su a si on .

O n e of t h e m os t pe r su a sive a n d p er va si ve in di ces of t h e

in t ell ect u a l waywardness in v olved in all this is th e ten-

d en cy for s t u de n t s a n d t ea ch e r s of s oft s oci a l s ci en ce a n d

t h e politica lly cor r u p t e d a r t s t o m a k e gu r u s of s om e of t h e

better kn own exp on en t s of t h eir obsessions. There a re no

Sar t r es , F ou ca u lt s, C h om sk ys , Alt h u ss er s, M a r cu se s or

D e r ri d a s in p rop er aca dem ic stu dy, su ch a s t hos e social

sciences like econ om ics, wh ich h a ve r et a in ed th eir in t ell ec-

INDEP ENDE NCE OR S TAGNATION?14

t u a l int egrit y. Clea rly on e scar cely need s t o say t ha t

gen uin e scientists a nd t echnologists do not put them selves

for w a r d as gu ru s. Indeed t he lat ter a re ap par en t only in

corru pt ed act iv it ies .

Higher e d u ca t ion is qu ite clea rly t oo chea p in th is

cou n t r y . T h a t is t h e b a r ga i n st r u ck be t w ee n gov er n m e n t

a n d populace, esp ecially t h e middle a n d u pp er cla ss es , bot h

sides of the ba rgain being misled r a d ica l ly a bou t t h e valu e

of t h e ex er cise. D em a n d i s p r om is cu ou s on th e p a r t of

ce r t ai n m e m b e r s of a p u b l ic t h a t i s ge n e r a ll y d i sp os e d t o

exp ect educat ion on the chea p, and supp ly is in some a reas

of t h e cu r r icu l u m h a n d le d b y a n id eolog ica lly p r om is cu ou s

pse ud o-bourge oisie th at pr ivat ises t he act ivity of cu r r icu -

lum innovat ion wi thout f inan cia l r i sk to it se l f, t h e cos t s of

it s e rr ors bei n g socia lise d, t h at is b orn by t h e t a xpa yer .

N o t o n l y t h e cu r r i c u lu m o f h igher edu ca t ion bu t a l so

i t s p eda gogy a nd assessm ent a re cor ru pt ed

T h e w h ole higher ed ucation system is adversely affected.

Cr it ics u s u a ll y con ce n t r at e on curricu lar cor r u p t ion , on

s tuden t s w h o ch oose sociology ra th er t h a n a ca d em ic hist ory

or en gin ee r in g, or oth er s w h o ele ct t o r e a d E n g li sh b u t en d

u p s t u dy in g De r r id a r a t h er th a n Sh a ke sp ea r e or Mi lt on .

T h is cur r icu lar cor rup t ion , th is in te l lectua l d iminut ion , i s ,

indeed , a cr u cia l con s id e r a ti on . I t is no t , h o we ve r , t h e wors t

cor r u pt ion . T h e cor r u p t ion of peda gogy and acad emic

assess m en t is a n ev en wor se pr obl em , be ca u se it a ffects t h e

w h ol e academ ic cur riculum . Thus a longside t h ose h uge

n u m b e r s o f ‘g radua tes ’ who have s tud ied sub ject s of a m ost

d u biou s qua li ty, goes a relent lessly downward t ren d of

s tand ards , in t h e n a m e of ‘de m ocr a cy’, eve n in su bje cts

whose epistem ological robust ness m akes them imm un e to

di r ect su bve r si on .

T h e a d d i c t io n t o s t a t e -f in a n c e of ed u c a t ion i s a

n a t i o n a l on e

F r o m one perspective i t should be s a id t h a t we ough t n o t t oseek to ‘blame’ the u nivers i t ies for what h as b ee n , however

O’K E E F F E A N D MA RS L AN D 15

a m orp hou sly, t h e ch oice t h a t soci ety a s a w h ole ha s decided

t o ma ke. O n in spe ction, w e a re inclin e d t o r e pe a t th a t

‘n a t ion ’ really mea ns t he m iddle and upp er c la s se s , s u ch

t h a t the idea of the whole commun i ty , as more or less

add icted t o t h e st a t e-fi n a ncin g of h igher educat ion i s a

ra dica lly m isle a din g on e. I t is n ot clea r wh a t , for b et t er or wor se , t his ad diction

proves . I t m ight su ggest th at h um an beings ha ve a pra ise-

w or t h y gen ius for a d a p t i n g t o a d v er s i t y. All hu ma n b eings

r e qu i r e h a bit u a t ion to t h e in er a di ca ble im pe r a t ive s of

econ om ic scarcity. Our edu cational ar ra ngem ents are t o be

seen as exem p l ifying h ab itu at ion t o economic inefficiency.T h e r e a r e la rger -sca le ve r si on s of cou r se . It is often alleged,

for examp le, t h a t t h e in habi tan ts of th e form er Soviet U n i on

ada pted so well to it th at ma ny t o th is da y cling n ost algi-

cally t o it s m e m or y , lon g after its demise, a n d even when it s

re st ora tion is un th inka ble. Tod a y t h is seems t h e oppos it e of

a com m o n se n se a da p t a bi li ty . T h e B ritis h ca s e is ve r yd i ffe r e n t . We be lieve th at our ext r a or d in a r y ge n e r al

a ffl u en ce ca n di sg u is e t h e in efficie n cy of s om e p r od u ct ion ,

e.g. of higher edu cat ion . We a re hab i tua ted to a se rvice t h a t

is probably widely regarded a s in efficie n t , bu t wh ose

a l te r n atives ar e seen as less d esir ab le st ill. Effectively,

Br i t i sh ed u cat ion , in clu din g t er ti a ry ed u cat ion , h a s been

sucked in t o t h e welfa re st at e, sh ar ing b oth th e pu blic

fi n a n ce b ias and t h e id eolog ica l p r es u pp osi t ion s of m ode r nw e lfa r e ideology. S ta te ins t i tu t ions , p a r t icu l a rl y i ts ed u ca -

t ion a l ins t i tu t ions , and t he s ta te ’s resources , a r e together

envisaged by bien-pensant e du cr a ts as i n s t rumen t s of socia l

e n gi n ee r in g t h a t m a y i n ci de n t a ll y m a k e t h e cou n t r y m or ep r os p er ou s a n d compe tit ive b u t whose fu n d a m e n ta l purpose

is t o ma ke s ociety m ore ‘equ al’.

Perha ps we s hou ld s ay t he pu blic is par tly persu aded by

th is . I t sh ould be noted th at i t is t he p ub lic fin a n cin g of ou r

e du ca t ion , not th e su bver sion of its int ellect u a l l ife in t h e

in t er es t of ‘eq u a lit y’, of w h ich the pub l ic, however de fined ,approves . Common sense observa t ion sugges ts t h a t t h e

pu blic d e t es t s in t e ll ect u a l subvers ion. The p en n y m a y on ed a y d r op t h a t it ca n n o t ge t r id of th e s u bve r si on wit h ou t

a lso t h e r eject ion of t h e fi n an ci a l m od e on w h ich t h a t

INDEP ENDE NCE OR S TAGNATION?16

19 The m ode, as we sha ll see lat er, is n ot just ‘public fina nce’ but pu blic

finan ce in a free s ociety, wit h t he t wo sub -version s, bureaucratic

centralism , borrowed from the totalitarian experience, and th e

distin ctively freedom -aping su bsi di sed in nov ati on , which has ena bled

an un re pr ese nt at ive cli qu e t o ins inu at e it sel f int o th e n at ion’s

educa tiona l life at ever y level.

20 Th e Fu tu re of H igh er E du cati on , 2003, p. 20.

su bver sion depends .19 In an y event , as a l wa y s wi t h t h e

e r r or s of socialis m an d the pu bl ic sector , the innocent , who

a r e a lm ost a lwa ys in th e m ajor ity, p ay for t he sin s a nd

d ep r ed a t ion s of the minor i ty . As it hap pens , m o st of th ose

w h o la bou r in higher ed u ca t i on a r e h on e s t toilers in science

or ma th em at ics or en gine er in g or m edicin e e t c., gu ilt les s oft h e k inds of a n t in om i a n e r r or s t h at ha ve en ter ed t he wh ole

edu cat ion s ys t e m fr om one or two ident i fiable sources . The

overa ll i n t ellect u a l d iffi cu l t ie s of t h e (e n t ir e ) e d u ca t i on

system ha ve bee n ca us ed a bove a ll b y t h e fa n a t ica l n om en -

klatu ra of t e a ch e r ed u ca t ion a n d s oft s oci a l science. Given

t h a t th e n ew Wh it e P a pe r pr opos es com p u ls or y t e a ch e rt r a in i n g for new u nivers ity tea ch e r s a n d a T ea ch i n g Q u a li ty

Aca de m y,20 one ha s to say th at i t is entirely possible tha t

u n i ve r s it y tea chin g will soon become less effective, r a t h er

t h a n more. T h e M a r x is t s h a v e r e t r e a t ed , b u t n ot t h e p os t -

m ode rn ist s a n d m ora l r ela ti vist s.

Edu ca t ion , h igher or o th erw ise , i s no t a pu bl ic g ood

W h a t must a t a l l cost s b e r eject ed , h ow e ve r , is t h e buttress -

ing of t h e n at ion’s collective p re feren ces, wh ich h ave bu iltu p over man y decades—m o r e t han half a century now in

fact—by fa l se a r gu m e n t a t ion . E d u ca t ion is n ot on e of those

good s wh ose econ om ic logi c is p ecu lia r or d ifficult . In

p a r t icu l a r we r eje ct t h e cla im th a t ed u ca t ion , h igh er orotherwise, sh ar es w ith policin g or n a t ion a l de fe n ce t h e

ch a r a c t er of a ‘p u b li c g ood ’. O n t h e con t r a ry it is a t h or -

ough ly pr ivat e good. All t h e socia l good t h a t educat ion does

is m ediated int erm ittent ly a n d ind ivid ua lly, n ot collectively.

We mig ht contr as t t his wit h d efence, w he re th e socia l

good —t h e p rotection of a given society again st i ts en e-

mies— is continu ous an d u tterly collective.

O’K E E F F E A N D MA RS L AN D 17

T h e h i g h e r ed u c a t i o n c u r r i c u l u m , ce r t a i n ly i n t h e

case o f a r t s a n d s o ci a l s ci en ce , i s no t a n u nl im i ted

good

An ot h e r ca n d id a t e for ou t r ig h t r e je ct ion i s t h e pr oposit ion

t h a t edu cat ion i s an u n l imi ted good and tha t everybody

s h ou l d h a v e as m uch of it as possible. Th e ide a is cert ain ly

n ot bor n ou t in t er m s of all th e a sp ect s of t h e cu r r icu lu m ofunivers i t ies . I t h as long be en clear th at ma ny d egr ees in

sociology, fo r example , supp ly t h e ir s t u de n t s w it h n ot h in gre m otely resembl ing cla r i ty of unders ta nd ing and m or a l

en light en m en t, t ha t is to sa y th at th e lea rn ing in volved in

n o way promotes good, whi le man y degrees in other sub-

ject s , for exa m ple E n g li sh , h a v e of l a t e been subjected to th eb la n d i s h m e n t s of poli t ica l cor r ectness. Cert ainly one does

n ot h a v e t o b e a fu s t y r ea c t ion a r y t o reg ar d t he vas t en rol-

m e n t i n n ew a r ea s s u ch as wome n’s stu dies an d ‘m edia

st u di es ’ wit h a cer t a in su sp icion .

A s ta nd ar ds q ues t i on

W h a t i f ou r t h o u gh t s t u r n a w a y fr om cu r r icu l a r choice an d

fasten i n st e a d on t h e level of g en e r a l sta nda rds? Some of u s

will rem ember the ‘O’ level Gener a l Cer t ifica t e of E du ca -t ion . I t wa s inten ded for abo u t t h e t op 2 5 p e r ce n t of t h e

a b il it y ra nge at th e age of 16 . We n ow expect more th an 30per ce n t of e a ch y ea r gr ou p of t h e you n g pop u la t ion to get a

b a ch e lor ’s degree . More pe opl e a r e t h u s h eld ca pa ble of

g et t in g a B A or BSc t oday t ha n u sed to be t hou ght su ita ble

to tak e ‘O’ levels a few decades ago . By defin i t ion BAs and

BScs mus t be eas ie r (t ak ing the age d iffe r en ce s i n to a c-

cou n t ) t h a n t h e la t t e r . And Brit ish officialdom, rem ember ,

is n ow t h in k in g on Ca lifor n ia n lin es of u p to 50 p e r ce n t of

e a ch year gr ou p going in to ‘higher e du ca t ion ’. T h e i de a t h a ta n a v er a ge u n ive r si t y ed u ca t ion u n de r su ch a disp en sa tion

ha s an y chance of r e a ch i n g a h igh lev el of a ca de m ic r igou r

is sim ply m oon s h in e. St anda rds must fall a s we a d m it m ore

a n d more stu dents . We t h in k s t ron g la n gu a ge i s ca lle d for .

T h e 5 0 p e r cent en ro lment ambi t ion sure ly cons t i tu t es a

kin d of collective in sa nit y.

INDEP ENDE NCE OR S TAGNATION?18

21 Ton y Dick son , ‘UK u ni ver sit ies an d t he st at e: F au st ia n b ar ga in ?’,

Economic Affairs, vol. 21, no. 3 September 2001, p. 24.

22 Alison Wolf, Does Education Matter? Myths About Ed ucation and

Economic Growth, Pengu in, 2002, pp. 246-47.

G o v er n m e n t a n d pub l i c h a v e collud ed in t h e m at ter of

chea p h igh er ed uca t ion

U n i ve r s it y t e a ch e r s fu l m i n a t e a b ou t t h e w a y govern men ts

h a v e e xp a n d e d t h e n u m b e r of u n d er g ra d u a t es wi th ou t

incr ea sin g pari pa ssu t h e res our ces a vaila ble. It is qu ite

clear, h o we ve r , t h a t t h is di m in u t ion in per capita resources

is endor s e d in pr a cti ce b y t h e u n ive r si t y-or ien t ed pu bli c,

si n ce t h a t publ ic does not wan t to pay m ore. This is conve-

n i en t for t h e govern men t, given tha t , a s Dick son says, lower

u n it cost s i n h igh er ed u ca t ion h a ve b ee n th e fir st pl a n k of

pol icy for 4 0 y ea r s .21 Even sm a ll moves to increas e the

p r i va t e cos t s t o p a r t ici pa n t s a lw a ys a r ouse fu r y i n ce r t ai n

secti on s o f a pub l ic tha t wa nts the se rv ices bu t does n ot

wa n t t o p a y for t h e m . An d i t sh o u ld b e p oi n t ed ou t t h a t t o

w a n t se r vice s b u t n ot wa n t to p a y for t h em is n ot t o w a n t

th em ver y s er iou sl y. I n oth er wor ds , t h ou gh we rep e a t th a t

th ere is a collusion involving th e public here, it s h ou l d n ot

be t h ou g h t of a s a n in t rac table one , a t leas t n o t on t h e p a r t

of t h e p op u la ce. T h ey ou gh t to b e p er su a da ble a s t o th e

a dverse n a t u r e of t h e si tu a t ion , if it w e r e explained to t h em

pr oper ly.

O v e r a l l , o u r h i g h e r e d u c a t i o n s y s t e m i s c e r t a i n l y

m a l f u n c t io n a l a n d m a y a c t u a l ly b e d y s fu n c t i on a l

Alis on Wolf’s in ter est ing a nd well-re ceived b ook is ess en -tia lly, like ou r p re sen t m onogr ap h , a rejection of the very

n ot ion th at lar ge-scale pr odu ction of a nyt hin g ca n be

achieved by cent ra l i st f ia t, let a lon e in th e ca se of diffu se

a n d elus ive act ivity like tea chin g a n d le a r n in g .22 I f p r od u c-

t ion is simple th en th e lower level fun ctiona ries a sk e d t o

ach ieve i t m a y d o s o i n som e fa s h ion , if inefficiently. Whent h e t asks allotted a r e complex a n d h a r d to m e asu re , e.g. t h e

q u a l it y of un ivers it y d egr ee s, t h e e ffect s a r e p er n iciou s.

W h en t h e st at e is th e pa yma ste r a nd a gover nin g ideology

O’K E E F F E A N D MA RS L AN D 19

23 Wolf, Does Edu cation Matter?, 2002. See pa rt icular ly th e brillia nt

exposition of chapter s 6-8.

24 Pa ul J ohn son, Modern T imes: A History of the World from th e 1920s

to the 1990s, Ph oenix Gia nt , pp. 641-44.

25 David Mar slan d, Seeds of Bankruptcy, Claridge, 1988.

of equ alit y is im posed , th e kin d of élit is t gu i d a n ce fr om

s u p e r b t e a ch i n g a n d r e s ea r c h in s t i t u t ion s t h a t t h e w h ol e

sy st em n ee ds , ca n n ot be fu l ly ach ieved .23 I n d ee d t h e f ines t

in st it u t ion s come u nder envious assa ult . The c r u d e fact is

t h a t if h igh er ed u ca t ion a l in st itu tion s could be t ru ly

equal ised, th en t h e r e w ou l d n ot be an y excellent ones. Q u it esim ply, th e m a ss ive exp a n sion of h igh er ed u ca t ion a n d

un iver sa lly h igh s tandards a re mutu a l ly incompat ible.

Given the poor o u t p u t of m u c h pr i m a r y a n d s e con d a r y

e du ca t ion , moreover , the overa l l sys tem s imply ca n n ot

a chieve the ba sic cognitive tasks t ha t m ost pra cti t ioner s

a n d m o s t of t h e p u b li c w a n t i t t o. I n sum , th e sys tem is‘m a l fu n ct ion a l ’.

T h is sh or t fa ll, h owe ver , is n ot th e w or s t of it. P a u l

J o h n son ’s p r op os it i on , m a d e i n r el a t ion to th e Un ited

Sta tes , seems t oday equa lly applicable her e.24 Educa t ion in

t h is cou n t r y , a n d higher educat ion in par t icu lar , i s a t t im es

r a d ica l ly dys func tiona l . Th is is t o say it works aga ins tp op u la r consensus a s well a s in t ell ect u a l r igour . The recent

h i st or y of B r it is h h ig h er e du ca t ion i s i n som e su b ject a r e a s

a s or r y t a le of a n t in om ia n ism , r ela t ivis m a n d p olit ica l

correctness. We w ou l d add th e rider th a t sooner or l a t er t h is

is inevitably th e tend ency in a free society when edu cat ion

is publicly provided. I t is education’s careless , fiscally

driven e xp a n s i on t h a t sows t he seed s of ban kr up tcy in

society.25

T h e e r r on e o u s a r g u m e n t fr o m e c o n om i c g r o w t h

The dysfun ctiona l expansion of higher educat ion has been

push ed ev er for w a r d a s t h e in t e r t w in e d d efe ct s of s t a t e

r e gu la t i on an d fundin g have i n t e r a ct e d fu r t h e r w it h

p h il os op h ica l er r or s a s t o t h e na tu re an d p ur pose n ot only

of higher edu cat ion it se lf, bu t of ed u ca t ion t ou t court . Thes e

er r or s a r e com m i t te d b ot h by p r ofe ss ion a l e d u ca t or s a n d by

INDEP ENDE NCE OR S TAGNATION?20

26 For exam ple, Th e Fu tu re of H igh er E du cati on a s sumes th roughou t

th at edu cation indu ces ‘growth.’

27 For th e exa min at ion of th ese id eas , see R.S . Pet ers , Eth ics and

Ed uca tion , Allen a nd U nwin , 1966; an d J ohn Whit e, Th e Aim s of

Ed uca tion R est at ed , Routledge and Ke gan P aul, 1982.

28 Andr ew Oswa ld, ‘A victim of vocabular y: the m ean ing of “univers ity”

ha s been deba sed, a nd w ith it t he p lace it self’, THES , 31 May 2002.

29 For t he r ecord it m ay be obser ved th at while t he m ore h ighly

educa ted m embe rs of society will ben efit finan cially from t heir

qu al ifica ti on s, e ven in th e con te xt of a contracting economy, the belief

t h e inter ested pu blic. We repeat t ha t th ese er r or s disfigur e

t h e n e w W h it e P a p e r .26 If edu cat ion a s a n act ivity is indeed ,

a s we believe, the int ellectu al pur suit of what is tru e or

b ea u t ifu l or m or a ll y bind ing, 27 i t ma y properly be s a id t h a t

t h e wh ole e du ca t ion sy st em is a t pr es en t a dr ift from su ch

p u r s u it a n d t h e h igh er ed u ca t ion sy st em egr egi ou sly s o, acase p ow e r fu lly a r t i cu la ted recen t ly by Andrew Oswald .28

Osw ald s im p l y a s s e r t s t h a t u n iver si t ies a r e r es ea r ch

ins tit ut ions, ‘p r im a r i ly places for find ing ou t h ow th e wor ld

works’. T h e y a r e a l so ‘i n t h e t r u t h bu s i n es s ’, ‘i n t h e exce l-

len ce bus iness’ a n d ‘in t h e ele ga n ce bu s i n es s ’. Th e y wo r k a t

‘p u r s u in g beau ty a n d s ym m e t r y ou t of in s t inc t , no t becauseth ey are s ea r ch ing for s omet hin g us eful’. Worst of all,

Osw ald fi n ds , i s t h a t t r u t h , excellence, freedom a nd ele-

ga n ce a re sim ply n ot w h a t p u blic s ect or p olit icia n s w a n t.

S om e er ror s, a dm it te dly , ar e wor se th a n oth er s. Lo ts of

peop le wit h r es pon si bil it ies for or con n ect ion s w it h ed u ca -

t ion a l or g an i sa t ion a n d m a n a ge m en t , do seem to believet h a t educa t ion is a b ou t cr e a t in g jobs or econom ic growth. In

t h is ins tr um en ta l view t he y ar e wr ong, or a t a n y r a t e

r a n k in g th e ext rin sic fun ctions of educa tion ab ove its

i n tr in s ic pu rp oses. T his reck onin g h a s a t l ea s t s om e m e r it ,

howeve r , according as i t does , in pa r t a nyway, wi th what

v er y lar ge n um ber s of th e pu blic inn ocent ly belie ve, follow-

ing t h e evidence of thei r own l ives . I t is t h e case t h a t people

w it h h igh qu a lifica t ion s a r e m o r e a ffl u en t an d enjoy highers t a t u s on t h e w h ol e t h a n people with mea gre ones. In other

words ther e is a rough functional basis to th eir bel ief t h a t

edu cat ion is a bou t jobs , a lt h ou g h t hat belief is p hilos oph i-

cally wr ong.29

O’K E E F F E A N D MA RS L AN D 21

au xilia ry to t his em pir ical fact , th at edu cat ion i s a bidd ab le t ool for

economic growth, is much less convincing, as we have already ar gued.

30 Th is vi ew t oo dis figu re s t he ne w Wh ite Pa per , th ough it p lay s se cond

fiddl e t o th e ‘econom ic’ view. We will fe at ur e t he ‘Access Regu lat or’,

whose function will be to stop universities char ging top-up fees unless

th ey pur sue ‘egalit ar ian ’ recr uit men t policies, in ou r la ter finan cial

d iscuss ion .

31 Allan B loom, Th e Closing of the Am erican Mind , Simon and Shuste r ,

1988.

The fa r w orse e r r or o f ega l i t a r ia n i sm

T h e r e a r e fa r worse mistakes. O t h e r s w h o m a ke th eir livin g

in or close to ‘edu ca t ion ’ t a k e it t h a t m a k i n g s oci et y m or e

‘equ al’ is t h e essen c e o f t h e e d u ca t i on a l t a s k .30 E d u ca t ion is

for t h e m sy n on y m ou s wi th a m a n a g er ia l , socia l is t poli t ics .

Th eir act ivitie s t o th is en d cons tit ut e a kin d of p er m a n e n t

a n t in om i a n incubus w ithin t he pr ocess of intellect u a l

t r a n s m is s ion , m o ck i n g i t s r i gh t fu l h ie r a r ch i es , d e r idin g its

greatest ae st he tic a n d cognit ive a ccomplish m ents . Unfor tu -

na tely, the success of such ac t iv it i e s has long been appar -

e n t , in Am er ica a s m u ch a s h er e. I t is n ot too m u ch to ca ll

it ‘fa t a l’, s o m a n ifold are i ts dire out comes. The p rotean

e r r or t h is pse ud o-inte llect ion h a s su cce ed ed in gen er alis in g

across t h e wh ol e r a n ge of e du ca t ion a l in s t it u t ion s a n d

ab ove a l l in u n ive r si t ies , ca n be su m m ed u p i n th e on e

word : relativism .31

Allan Bloo m w a s r igh t . Were a n e du ca t or fr om on e of t h e

free societies , ha ving d i e d 50 yea rs ago, su dd en ly to find

him self back from the g rave and in the compan y of m o de r n

u n i ve r s it y st ud en ts an d t ea cher s in th e a rt s a nd social

sc iences , wh at he would find most dism aying is th eir ut ter

convic t ion in ver y m a n y ca se s t h a t a ll in t ell ect u a l or

ae st he tic hier ar chies r elat e only t o a rbitr ar y preferences

endorsed by or s er ving th e in t e r es t s of p a r t icu l a r p ow e r -

groupings, t h a t the re is n ot h i n g better n or worse, in t ell ect u -

a lly or a est he tica lly, th an an yth ing e lse a nd th at th e sole

crim e we m a y comm it in t h is r e ga r d is t o suppose th a t th ere

could be.

We cannot dwel l on the implica t i on s o f t h i s m i st a k e fo r

social and fami ly li fe and th e auth or i ty- re la t ions of soci ety.

INDEP ENDE NCE OR S TAGNATION?22

32 We mea n t ha t h igh per forma nce is effectively dism issed a s not hin g

more th an a construct of wealth and power, the different

perform an ces of the pu pil from Ma rm adu ke College a nd t he pu pil

from Gasworks Lan e Comprehen sive requiring adjust ment

accordingly.

33 Gargi Battacha ryya, ‘Sticking together–un iversities and the

communi ty’, AUT LOOK , Issue N o. 221, April, 2002-05-09, pp. 23-24.

34 Gillian Howie, ‘Launch of database, register and website for feminist

th eory’, AUT LOOK , Issue N o. 221, April, 2002-05-09, p. 25.

Let u s ju s t s t ick t o h i gh e r e du ca t i on . Th e r e la t i vi st e r r or

h a s rep ercu ssion s both on t he recr uit me nt to h ighe r

edu cat ion a n d on it s cu r r icu la r em ph a si s a n d com pos it ion .

F o r m er l y sou n d un iver sit ies a re now a ctively en gage d in

lower ing th eir e n t r y s t a n d a r ds in t h is respect 32 and, indeed ,

t h e w h ol e a p p a r a t u s of p r e -u n i ve r sity examinat ions and

se lect ion ha s been pr ocessed a dvis edly t o rem ove or dim in-

ish the reg is tr a t i on of in t ell ect u a lly d is t in gu is h ed pe r for-

ma nce. Th er e is n o su pe ri orit y, t h e m a n tr a ru n s, a n d

e ve r yt h in g will be processed to ma ke th is clear or r a t h e r t o

obs cu r e th e poss ibility of anyt hin g su per ior m ak ing it self

a p p a r e n t .

T h e April 2002 ed it ion of AUT LOOK , th e officia l jou r n a l

of the Association of Un iversity Teachers, offers th e read er

two a r t i c les represen t ing and adv oca t in g th e cu r r icu l a r

a d va n ce of t h e p r om is cu ou s cu lt of e ga lit a r ia n is m in

u n i versities th em selve s: one a ssu re s u s t ha t m ult icult ur al-

i sm should be a ce n t r al preoccupa tion of un iversit ies33 a n d

t h e other tha t f emin i sm should .34 Let i t m erely be s a id t h a t

most of t h e wr it in g s i n th e se t w o a r e a s, i n or ou t of t h e

e du ca t ion a l a r e n a , se em ver y fa r from th e s ea r ch for t r u t h ,

beau ty or m or a l r e ct it u de. ‘Obs ess iona l’ is t h e ad jective t h a t

bes t f it s them . They are a l so é li t i s t in th e wors t sense of

tha t word .

T h e H a m p s t e a d o b se ss i on s

In the educat ional sphere é li t i sm once m e a n t si m pl y t h e

p u r s u it of inte llectu al br illi a n ce in sch ools a n d un iversities.

We applaud é l i t i sm in th is sense of t h e word. We d et e st t h e

new é li ti sm t h a t on ou r u n d er s t a n di n g m e a n s t h e m a n ip u -

O’K E E F F E A N D MA RS L AN D 23

35 For th e corr upt ion of sociology see Mar slan d, Seeds of Bankruptcy,

1988. For the contribut ion mediated th rough tea cher education, see

Den nis J . O’Keeffe, The Wayward Élite, The Adam Smit h Inst itute,

1990.

la t ion of society by a s inis ter socialist age nd a. T he popu la-

t ion is n ot a socia l is t one ; but th e é l ite tha t push es the

‘e ga l it a r ia n ’ a gen da is. Th e cur re nt pr eoccupa tion wit h

femin i sm and m ul t i cu l tu ra l i sm and th e res t of the agenda

of the Nor th London in te l ligen t s ia o f Ham ps tead and

High gat e flows fr o m a s e t of s e n t im e n t a l p ol it i ca l m i st a k e s

made by t h e s m a ll num bers of people who reach in fluen t ia l

pos it ion s in e d u ca t ion a l a d m in i st r a t ion , l oca l an d n a t ion a l .

T h e history of the subvers ion involved is a complex on e

an d ha s never been fully resear ched or wr i t ten up . Almost

ce r t ai n ly it s origin wa s in th e u nive rs ities , esp ecially in

sociology depar tment s and un ivers i ty schools and depar t -

m e n t s of e du ca t ion .35 Th e policies a nd pr efere nces of this

s u bv er s ion , fixa t ion s of irre spon sible s up ply-led cont riv-

an ce, corre spon d r em ar ka bly litt le to a nyt hin g in t he

obser vab le priorit ies of the t ax-pa ying pu bli c, wh i ch s h a r e s

w it h th e socialis t in tellig en ts ia ve r y l it t l e b e yon d t h e

com m on ground of preferr ing pu bli c fin a n ce, a n er r or of

hab i tua t ion from w h ich t h e pu blic could soon be cu red given

good lea de r sh ip . Su ch éli t e s ocia lis t obs es si on s d iffer from

t h e ins t rum enta l model of educat ion , whose exponents , we

h a v e a l ready s u gges ted , however misguided , can a t leas t

poin t to i t s con si st en cy wi t h th e com m on se n se ou t look of

t h e ge n er a l p u bli c.

T w o m o d e s of ed u c a t i o n a l fi n a n c e a n d r e g u l a t i on :

I . Bur eau cra t i c cen t ra l i sm

T h e present regu lat ory/orga n i sa t ion a l a n d fina ncia l ré gim e

in higher educat ion compr ises two modes, neither of t hem

s a t is fa ct or y in a f ree society. The f ir s t i s bur eaucrat ic

centra lism , where the codi fica t ion of product ion i s a t -

tem pted by incr ea sin gly a m bit iou s a n d i n tr u s iv e act ivity by

govern men t or its a ppointed a gencies . This mode of p r od u c-

t ion is con s i st e n t wit h th e con t r ols pl a ced on th e w h ole of

INDEP ENDE NCE OR S TAGNATION?24

36 F.H . Ha yek, The Road to Ser fdom, London: Routledge, 1944.

37 Ja mes Tooley, ‘The futur e of higher edu cation in the U K: seven

str aws in t he w ind’, Economic Affairs, vol. 21, no. 3, September 2001,

p. 2.

society by t h e t ot a li ta r ia n régimes of t h e last ce n t u r y. In th e

Soviet case t h is i n volv ed a va st pa n opl y of r egu la t ion a n d

almost u n ive r sa l p u bli c fin a n ce a n d s ocialised p r op e r ty. As

H a y ek pointed ou t , h o we ve r , s u ch a p a n o pl y of con t r ols a n d

int er ven tion s ca n exi st wit h ou t th e ou t r igh t a boli t ion of

p r i va t e p r op er t y a n d w it h ou t u n iver s a l ce n t r al is ed p la n -

n i n g, provided t h e tax-tak e is l a r ge e n ou g h .36 S u ch w e r e th e

ar ra ngements u nder Na zism and fascism.

T h e a n t i -fa s ci st dis posit ion of mode rn Br itis h u nive rs i-

t ies , a bia s we s ha re a nd only wish it a lso exte n d e d t o

com m u n is m , will m a k e ou r com parison odi ou s to m a n y wh o

t e a ch o r s tudy in th em , bu t t h e fa ct r em a in s t h a t ou r

un iver sit y ver sion of e du ca t ion a l bu re au cra tic centra l ism is

m u ch closer t o t h e Na zi-fascist model of overa l l pol it ics t h an

to t h e M a r xi a n comm unist one. T h e citizens them selves a r e

m o st l y in pr iva te em ploy m en t. M a n y own th eir own a ccom -

m o da t i on . E v en s o, t h e r e i s n ow a n e xt e n si ve a pp a r a t u s of

contr ols over ou r u n i ve r sit y life , a s e ls ew h er e in ed u ca t ion ,

re m in isce n t of t h e cor por a te st a te .

At t h e s a m e t im e , h o we ve r , t h er e a re gleams of eman -

ci pa t or y light t o be se en in t he fina ncia l pictu re . Pu blic

fi n a n ce s h ou ld, indeed, be res e r ve d for pu blic goods. I t ma y

be noted, however, tha t wh ile Brit ish un iversit ies are too

d e pe n de n t on s ta te - finance , they are mu ch less so t h a n is

comm only r ea lis ed . J a m es Toole y p oin t s ou t t h a t almost 43

per cent of the fina n ce of Br i t ish un ivers i t ies does n ot com e

from ce n t r a l a n d l oca l gov er n m e n t a n d t h a t s om e B r it ish

un iversit ies p r os p er on n o mor e th an 20 p er cent of the ir

funds comin g from govern m en t s our ces, cent ra l an d local. 37

D e sp i t e t h is con s id er a b le in d ep en de n ce of the s tat e’s

resources , s u ch u n i v er s i t ie s r em a i n w it h i n t he st ifling

b u r ea u cr a t ic con s t r a in t s of t h e higher edu cat ion Levia than .

In oth er word s t he st at e de ma nd s t he righ t t o regu lat e in

det ail not only tha t wh ich i t does fi n a n ce , b u t a ls o t h a t

w h ich i t does not . There i s a n a n om a l y a l re a dy a pp a r en t

O’K E E F F E A N D MA RS L AN D 25

her e, on e w h ich th ose wh o su pp or t th e in de pe n de n ce of

u niversit ies migh t well exploit . T h e p r ice n ow dema nded by

t h e st a t e in exch a n ge e ven for p a r t ia l p u bli c fi n a n ce is

incr eas ingly cen tr al ised con tr ol.

Es pecia lly in r e ce n t decades, bu re au cra tic centra l ism h a s

played a n i n cr e a s in g p a r t in ou r h igher educat ion arr an ge-

ments . We ask, simp ly, on wha t groun ds was i t ever

t h ou g h t tha t th is was a s a t is fa ct or y m od e of p r od u ct ion /

re gula tion for a free society? W h a t civilised p r ece de n t exis ts

for its ap plica tion ? Bur ea ucr at ic ce n t r al is m t yp ifi es t h e

a n ci en t s la v e s t a t es a n d m od er n t ot a li ta r ia n s oci et ie s. T h e

ba ld tru th is tha t bur eau cratic centra lism would not be a

viab le mod e of cont rol or fin an ce for a fr ee societ y even if it

aspir ed to t ake a ccou n t of h u m a n dign ity , which i t does n ot .

II . Su bs id i sed inn ova t ion

T h e ot h e r re gu la t ory m ode in mod er n B rit ish edu cat ion is

m o r e novel, m uch mor e in forma l an d sp ont an eous , spe cifi-

cally a pr oduct of the p ublicly fina nced learn ing of the free

W e st e r n societie s , an d i ts symbiosis with t he m ar ket

econ om y . W e m a y u s e fu l ly n a m e it sub sidised inn ovation .

I t h a d n o cou n t e r p a r t in th e in t ell ect u a l or ga n is a t ion of t h e

t ot a li ta r ia n socie t ies , whose l ead in g ca d r e s , com m u n i s t or

f a scis t /N a z i, wou ld h a ve be en de ep ly s u sp iciou s of a n d

h o st i le t o i t, t h e y t h emselves h old in g a ll con t r ol of t h e

c ircular s tas i s tha t passed as innovat ion in the i r soc ie t ies .

T h is is because, super ficially, in i ts em phasis on individua l

init iat ive, su bsid ised inn ovat ion resem ble s t h e i n t el le ct u a l

pr ocess es of a fr ee s ociet y.

T h e h igher edu cat ion curr iculum of Bri t ish socie ty as we

h a v e experienced i t , had origina lly emerged spon ta ne ous ly

fr om the in tellectual fermen t of the ninet eenth centu r y.

F i n a n ci a l depend ency on the st ate-pu rse goes back t o t h e

1920s , bu t su bs id is ed in n ova t ion m a de it s a pp ea r a n ce

m a i n ly fr om th e 196 0s on wa rd s, a t lea st in G re at Br ita in,

when sign ifica nt nu mber s of people bega n to a t t en d un iver-

s it y a n d t h e m od e r n soft s oci a l scien ces, wit h t he ir s t r a n ge

m ix t u r e of sent imenta l guil t and envy, made the i r f ir s t

INDEP ENDE NCE OR S TAGNATION?26

im pa ct, i n a B r it a in in which th e old liber al/conser vat ive

consensus on t e a ch i n g a n d le a r n in g w a s begin nin g to brea k

d ow n .

Subsidised in n ova t ion occu r s wh e n t h e ‘e n trepreneur s’ of

pub licly fina nced learn ing begin to innovate on t he b asis of

re ad ily a va ila ble pu blic r es our ces. Th e in nova tion is

pr iva t i sed in te rm s of the dec is ions an d s t ra t eg ies of those

inn ovat ing, in sim ula tion of genuin e bu sin ess a ctivity, b u t

d iffe r s from s u ch act ivity in t h a t it is re lat ively r isk free, t h e

cost s being overwhelmingly socialised. The best exam p le

h a s b ee n op e r a t iv e l ow e r down t h e e du ca t ional sys tem as a

fool’s gold sin ce th e 1960 s: th e child-cen tr ed p rogr essive

r evol u t ion . I l l i teracy, inn um eracy, ignora nce, juven ile a n d

su bse qu en tly ad ult crim ina lity: all t he se h ave flowed from

t h is in n ova t ion , ev en if w e ca n n ot calibr at e th e n exu s

pr ecisely. Seconda ry schools h ave bee n for ce d t o t r y t o

remedy the pr ima ry defici t and th e less eleva ted un ivers -

i t ies t od a y s p en d m u ch of t h eir t im e doin g wh at sh ould

h a v e been taken care of in the secon d a r y sch ools . E ver yon e

pass es t h e bu ck a n d n o on e am on g s t t h e v a r iou s g u il t y

par ties p a y s s ig n ifi ca n t ly . Th e cru cial p oint , cert ain ly, is

t h a t n o one int ern al to t h e orig in al cam pa ign h as pa id for

t h e havoc, wh ich is bor n e b y t h e ge n er a l p u bli c a n d a l l t a x-

payers . Wit hin p r im a r y a n d s econ d a r y e du ca t ion t h e m a jor

cost is born by the d iversion of funds from m ainst ream

cu r r icu l u m to t he spe cial n eeds ind us tr y, ‘specia l needs’

bein g mos tly on ly an infla te d eu p h em i s m for t h e in a b i li t y

to read. S u ch s p eci a l n eeds spill over from s econda ry s ch ool

in to t h e un ivers ity, w h ich is obliged to t e a ch ‘s tudy ski l ls’ on

a large scale. The ostensible process of educat ion degener-

at es in to a kin d of rem edia l th era py.

P r i m a r y , s ec on d a r y a n d t e r t i a r y co n n ec t i on s

We h a v e m os t ly t ried to eschew discu ssion s of prim ar y an d

s econ d a r y e du ca t ion . T h e fact is , however, tha t somet imes

it i s not possib le t o concept ua lise t h e high er s ector qu est ion

w it h ou t t h i n k in g of p r ior s e ct or s . Jus t a s the fa i lures of

p r im a r y edu cat ion h a v e t r a p pe d m u ch of s econ d a r y e du ca -

O’K E E F F E A N D MA RS L AN D 27

38 Fr an k Mu sgrove , S chool an d t he S ocial Ord er, John Wiley, 1979,

p. 193.

t ion in a pr im ar y post ur e, so th e wea ker un iver sit ies, wit h

th eir t a l k of ‘s t u d y sk i ll s’, t o some degr ee concept ua lly an d

even ped agogica lly be long to secondary e du ca t ion . H u m a n

var iab ility will always defeat p r ecise divisions, but ther e

ough t t o b e a t lea st a r ela t ive ly cle a n a r t icu la t ion between

p r im a r y , second ar y an d t ert iar y ed u ca t i on . Th e r e is n ot .

T h e r e is a mu dd y an d u ne as y int er pen etr at ion between th e

th ree di vis ion s, re flectin g m a l fu n ct ion s a n d d ys fu n ct ions in

ma ny ins t i tu t ions a t a l l levels .

Neo-Mar xis t soc io l ogy o f edu ca t ion

Subsidised inn ovat ion is by de fin it ion m a r k e d by p rod u ce r -

ca p t u r e , t h ou g h on t h e d em a n d s ide th is is heavi ly d is -

guised by it s en ha ncem en t of int ellectu al consumpt ion. We

noted e a r li er h o w d i ffi cu l t s u p pl y a n d d e m a n d a r e t o

un ra vel in such circumst an ces. Even m o r e d r a m a t ic i s t h e

i ss u e of u n -pena lised e r r or . Cer ta in int ellectu ally unprepos-

ses sin g ‘scholars ’ have proved ca p a bl e un der t h e condit ion s

of subs id i s e d in n ova t ion of m is lea di n g a wh ole g en er a t ion

of st u de n t s, a n d i n cu r r in g vir t u a lly n o a dv er se pe r son a l

r e s u lt s from their false m issionising. A good modern

exa m ple of t h e le n ie n cy ex te n de d t o m a s s iv e e r r or s a n d

in t ell ect u a l solecism s is t he fat e of th e n eo-Mar xist sociol-

ogy of e du ca t ion . Th is va cu ou s b yw a y in socia l t h eor y

flourished in th e 1970s, fa d e d i n th e la t e r 1 98 0s a n d wa s

effectively d ea d by a bou t 19 90 . Ma n y of it s l ea di n g ex po-

nen t s dropped it when t h e com m u n i s t world ca m e tu mblin g

d ow n , a l th ou g h t h ey ha d m ostly d en ied r eceiving a ny

in sp ir a t ion from r ea l commu nist societies. There were

e xt r a or d in a r y n u m b er s of book s a n d ar ticles in t h is persu a -

si on a n d m a n y MAs and P hDs were pursu ed . Count less

h o u r s we r e w a st ed in pu r su it of a pe r sp ective Fran k

Mu sgr ove at th e tim e rig h t l y d ism issed as ‘sh oddy’.38 I t s

one-t im e exponen t s h a v e n e ve r for m a l l y r e c a n t e d or

ap ologized for all th e m is lea di n g t h ey d id . Wit h ou t a w or d

of apo logy or even explan ation th ey have m erely plunged

INDEP ENDE NCE OR S TAGNATION?28

i n t o n ew obs es si on s, p ost -m ode r n is m or p olit ica l cor r ect -

ness . Most ex t raordinary of a l l is the fa ct t h a t m a n y of t h e

lea din g light s in th is m ovem en t en ded up wit h u n i ve r s it y

chai rs .

The ch i ld -centred d i sas ter

S u ch un ive r s ity stories make up t he luxu ry end of a system

int rin sically p r on e to va st mis ta kes . The un ivers ity ver sion

h a d been pa ra lle led a nd pr eceded by compa ra ble in nova -

t ion s i n th e cu r r icu l u m a nd p ed a gog y of p r im a r y a n d

s e con d a r y e d u ca t i on . We la c k t h e spa ce t o give m u ch

t r e at m e n t to t h e d ir e e ffect s, fir st of chi ld -cen t r ed ed u ca -

t ion , w ith its rejection of st ron g di scip lin e, its ‘l ook -a n d -s a y’

rea din g, i ts a ba n d on m e n t of ar it h m et ica l t a ble s, t h e

d is a s tr ou s a ffl a tu s then being followed up su bseq ue nt ly at

higher levels by th e coll a ps e of t h e cla ss ica l ca n on of

l it e r at u re a n d a vast exp los ion of a n t in om i a n socia l science.

S u ch , h ow ev er , h a s b e en t h e s t or y of s oft fu n d i n g t h a t h a s

ch a r a c t er i se d th e la s t 40 yea r s of B r it is h st a t e e du ca t ion .

S u ch i s t h e le ga cy of su bs id is ed in n ova t ion , a s i t n ow

int er tw ine s its elf w ith bu re au cra tic centra l ism, e n cod in g it s

prer ogatives in legislation a nd pr actice.

We m ainta in f i r s t , tha t most mis tak es of t h is k in d w ou ld

n ot have happ ened on the bas is of spon ta ne ous pa re nt al or

s t u de n t dema nd, an d secon dl y t h a t th ey con st it u t e coll ec-

t ively an int ellectu al d isa st er for w hich th ose r esp ons ible

w e r e n ot h e ld t o a ccou n t wh en it h ap pen ed a nd ne ver will

be. In a free soci ety t h e lax pr ovis ion of pu blic monies seem s

bou n d t o is su e in s u ch ca la m it i e s . Pr ivat e fina ncin g of

edu cat ion will n ot rem ove t h e h u m a n p ropens ity to err or; it

will, h owe ver , ch eck a n d d isci pl in e s u ch er r or in som e

degree. Th e t a sk of r ev er si n g d eca de s of e r r or is a daun t ing

on e a n d only p r iva t e fina nce s ta nd s a rea l ch a n ce of m oving

th ings the oppos ite way from the mis tak es .

Part II

A Purging of Confus ions , On a Supply and Demand Bas is : What? Who? How Many?

Who Pays? and Why?

31

T h e r e i s con fu s ion a b ou t w h a t i n te ll ect u a l w or k ou r

un iver sit ies should do. There is confusion over who

s h ou l d st ud y in th em , wh a t pr opor t ion of th e p opu la t ion

s h ou l d a t t en d t h e m , a n d , cr u ci a ll y, h ow t h a t a t t en d a n ce

s h ou l d be pa i d for . T h e r e is above a l l t h e grossest muddle a s

t o how u nive rs it ies sh ou ld be m a de r es pon si ble to t h e

p op u la t ion s they ser ve. In our view t he se qu est ions sh ould

a l l be decid ed b y th e free pla y of sup ply a nd dem an d, in a

‘fr ee enterpr ise cu r r icu lu m ’. S u ch a context will n ot righ t a ll

i l ls . Ala s, t h e r igh t in g of a ll il ls is on ly a u t op ia n fantasy .

P r i va t e fin a n cin g of high e r l ea r n i n g w ou l d , h o we ve r , m a k e

a ver y s ign ifica n t con t r ibu t ion to r ect ifyin g ou r pr es en t

wrongs .

W h a t wi l l cons t i tu te a uni vers i t y u n d er l o n g-t e r m

m a r k e t is a t i on ?

We do not rea lly kn o w, t h ou g h w e b e li ev e t h a t m a r k e t s

w ou l d w in n ow ou t m u ch of t h e n on s en s e of t h e pr e se n t

a r r a n g e m e n t s an d m ak e th e u nd er lying a nd ine vita ble

h i er a r ch y of exce lle n ce to w h ich un iversities a r e ne cessa ril y

subject mor e tr an spa re nt . The ir d ifferen tia l p r icin g a lon e

w ou l d h a ve th is we lcom e r e s u lt . If t h e for m er pol yt ech n ics

wished to con t in u e to consider t h em selves universi t ies , t h en

good . A pr iva tely fina nced system of colleges w ou l d be m u ch

less t ol er a n t of t h e a p p a ll in g ly low st a n d a r ds of t h e ou t p u t

from secon d a r y sch ools a n d beh ind these of p r im a r y sch ools.

Even so, some u nive r s i ties would spe cialise in im pr oving

s t u d e n t s w h o a r e not up to scr at ch. Wis e lea der sh ip i n th e

weaker in st it u t ion s w ou ld se ek e xte rn al e xam ini n g conn ec-

t ion s et c. wit h th e b et t er u n ive r si t ies , in a n effor t t o i m-

pr ove t h e ir ou tpu t . R ea l success w ou l d r e qu i r e a n a ccom p a -

nyin g pol icy of b et t er cu r r i cu l u m a n d t ea ch i n g i n p r im a r y

a n d s econ d a r y s ch ools . W e re ther e to be dram atic impr ove-

m e n t in lit er a cy a n d n u m e r a cy , t h e s e wo u ld s oo n m a k e

t h eir effect s a pp a r en t in h igh er ed u ca t ion too.

INDEP ENDE NCE OR S TAGNATION?32

39 Sir Ala n P eacock, ‘How neces sar y ar e un ivers ities ?’, Economic

Affairs, vol. 21, no. 3, September 2001, p. 7.

40 Oswa ld, ‘A victim of vocabu lar y’, THES , 2002.

Wha t w ork shou ld our u niver s i t i e s d o?

T h e old chestn ut here is wh ether insti tu tions should be

t e a ch i n g ins t i tu t ions or resea r ch ins tit ut ions . Sir Ala n

P ea cock r e m i n d s u s t h a t C a r d i n a l N e w m a n b el ie ve d t h a t

un iversit ies should t each, an d resea rch sh ould be confined

t o specia l is t academies .39 P r ofe ss or O sw a ld has come down

una mbiguous ly i n fa v ou r of r e se a r ch .40 We sa y: ‘L et t h e

ma rket decide’. We no te t h a t in ou r own t e a ch i n g careers we

h a v e fou n d t h a t t h e s t u d e n t s li k ed ou r h a v i n g w r it t en

r e s ea r ch a r t icle s a n d b ooks . U n de r fre e m a r ke t con di t ion s

s om e ins t i tu t ions would be jus t teaching , o thers jus t

r e se a r ch a n d ot h e r s b ot h .

On t h e i ss u e of cu r r icu l u m ou r con ten t ion is t h a t mark et s

w ou l d ha ve pr otect ed m inor ity in ter est s lik e t h e cla ss ics

better t h a n a socialist , ‘e ga l it a r ia n ’ system has. Marke t s can

a c com m o d a t e an infin ite s et of poss ibilitie s. Ma rk ets will

bot h u p h old t im e-pr oven ca non s a nd inn ovat e cea seles sly

on t h e in t ell ect u a l fron t . I n fe r ior degrees wil l get winnowed

ou t or at very leas t pu rchas ed for th e in fe r ior p roduct s t h ey

ar e. M a n y pr ofes si on a l colle ges wou ld evol ve i n con di t ion s

of pr ivat e fina ncin g, an d u niver sitie s pr oper migh t well

d u ck ou t of m u ch of t h e p r e se n t t r a in i n g for t h e profession s.

An d a good th in g t oo.

Who sh ould go to u niv ers i t y?

T h e an swer is a nyon e wh o i s g ood e n ou g h a n d w a n t s t o

en ough . M a r kets would ha nd le th is comb ina tion ra tion ally

t oo, if only governm ents would bu t t ou t a n d st op u s in g

un iversit ies a s if t h ey w er e a wea pon of th e cla ss wa r. Both

th e au th ors are of working-c lass b a ck g r ou n d ; b ot h w e n t t o

u n i ve r s it y in th e supp osedly benighted 1950s an d neith er

fou n d a n y h os t il it y t o children from t h e work ing cla ss. T his

w a s so in th e pre-Robbin s d a ys a n d th e r e is e ve r y r e a s on t o

suppose t h a t a m a r k et d r iv en system will m an age its

h u m a n in t a ke eve n be t t er , m a r ke t s b ein g fu n cti on a lly

O’K E E F F E A N D MA RS L AN D 33

41 The White Paper takes t he expansion in num bers for granted,

thr oughout, a nd on th e two false criteria of economic growth and

equality. At no point, however, does Th e Fu tu re of H igh er E du cati on

engage in any proper discussion of the propriety of this giganticism.

in d iffe r en t to th e ra ce, sex, class, r eligion a nd sexu al

pr efer en ces of in div idu a ls.

How m an y peop le w ould go to u niv ers i t y?

Again we do not rea lly kn ow . I t m i gh t b e fe w er t h a n a t

p r es en t as t hose who go today only because m ost of t h e cost

of th e e xp er ien ce is ba se d on publ ic f inan ce drop away. On

t h e ot h er h a n d, i f th er e w er e p r iva t is a t ion of ed u ca t ion

gen era lly, t h e ou t p u t of t h e s ch ools m ight imp rove r a d ica l ly

a n d mor e childr en would become in tellect ua lly enga ged

t h a n a t prese n t . Mor e p eop le w ou ld a ls o pr oba bly en joy

work ing in un iversit ies if the p resen t nosey-parker b u r ea u -

cr a cy of spying an d enforcement wer e scrapped an d re-

pla ced by a properly corrective compet it ive discipline. T h e

new White Pa per sim ply confir m s, wit hin th e gover nin g

assumpt ion s of t h e presen t , t h e govern men t’s de cisi on to get

s om e 5 0 pe r ce n t of fu t u r e coh o r t s i n t o t er t ia r y ed u ca t ion .

T h e r e is a good de al of boa st in g a bou t Br it is h in t ell ect u a l

pre-eminen ce, especia lly i n scie n ce, w it h ou r be in g s econ d

only to t h e USA, t h ou g h n o di scu ss ion of t h e e xt e n t t o w h ich

t h is br illi a n t a ch iev em en t r es t s on éli t e u n ive r si t ies , or on

p r i va t e p r imary and secondary educa t ion , and on excellent

g r am m a r sch ools w h ich h a v e been b r ou gh t for t h e most p a rt

t o unt imely dea ths . 41 Mu ch of th e in t ell ect u a l br illi a n ce of

B r i t ish civil is a t ion h a s r es t ed on pr iva t e e du ca t ion a l

expendi tures . T o s ecu r e su ch fu t u re p erforma nce will

r e qu i r e a n ew exp a n si on in th e p r iva t e e lem en t in ou r

educat ional system .

W h o w i l l p a y fo r u n iv e r si t y e d u c a t i on ?

Most ly cit izens will pay for th eir children or lat e sta rter s

will p a y for t h emse lves . S tuden ts as a p r essure g roup a re

ve r y anxious a lways tha t o ther people should p a y for th em .

It will be n ecessa ry to educa te t h e pu blic in s om e ba sic fact s

INDEP ENDE NCE OR S TAGNATION?34

of fina ncial l ife, or th i s re fl ex dependency cu l tu re wi ll d rag

on . F in a n cia l in st it u t ion s w ill e volv e e ver su pe r ior te ch -

niques for len din g for aca dem ic p u r p ose s. T h e la bou r

ma rket wi ll e volve t o a llow m or e of t h e Am er ican -style

w or k in g one’s way thr ough college. Un iversit ies will them-

selves evolve ways of employing the i r own s tuden ts ,

perhaps in p a r t ia l lieu of fe es , for e xa m p le . P a r t -t im e st u dy

will con t i n u e t o evolve. T h er e m a y a ls o be r a pi d e volu t ion

in d is t a n ce l ea r n in g a n d compute r ised l ea r n in g via de vel op-

m e n t s in in for m a t ion t echnology . Such t rends a re a l ready

well un derwa y. Lines of comm un ication between those

w a n t i ng t o sell t he ir k nowled ge an d t hose wa nt ing t o

purchase tha t knowledge, wil l become im men sely clearer

an d more sen sit ive.

Why w i l l p eop le g o to un ivers i t y?

We do n ot k now if a rena issan ce of learn ing i s a p os s ib il it y

for t h e h u m a n r a ce toda y, so corru pted a r e bil lion s of people

in t h e free societ ies , id eolog ica lly. Th is is m ost ly b eca u se of

ou r cor rupted edu cat ional sys tems. But for such a ren a is -

san ce, pr ivat isa tion of the in st itu tion s is a t t h e ve r y l ea s t a

sine q u a n on . For un iver sit ies t o be pr oper in s t i tu t ions of

l ea r n in g a n d cu l tu r e , t h e e thos tha t dominat es them m ust

be fou n ded on t he love of wisd om, goodne ss a nd bea ut y.

Unless la r ge n u m be r s of people are fascina ted by th e idea

of knowledge for its own sak e, t h e s e a r ch for m or a l good n ess

a n d th e p u r su it of th e b ea u t ifu l, u n ive r si t ies ca n n e ve r be

m or e t h a n a ph ilis t in e b et r a ya l of t h e b es t dr ea m s of ou r

a n c es t ors . I t h a s proved to be soci a li st , ideologically skewed

higher edu cat ion t ha t is ph ilist ine an d a nt i-int ellectu al.

O n ly a m a r k et -ba se d s ys t em cou ld fu n ct ion powe r fu lly

en ough t o s t a r t t o rev er se t he int ellectu al d ecay t ha t s et in

ever y wh e r e in t h e free world in t h e last 30 or 40 y ea r s of t h e

t w e n t ie t h cent ur y. In th e Br itis h ca se, cer ta inly in t h e las t

th ree decades , th is deca y wa s in st r ik in g op pos it ion to t h e

econom ic r e n ew a l t h a t also, ups a n d d ow n s a llow ed for, t ook

place.

P art III

Opt ions for Privati sat ion

42 J am es Tooley, R eclaim in g Ed uca tion , Cassell, 2000, pp. 65-67.

37

The p r iva t i sa t ion of un ivers i t i e s ad m i t s o f a nu m ber

o f o p t i on s

Wh a t is n ot often sa id a bout hig her edu cat ion fi n a n ce is

t h a t the bin d we ha ve allowed ourselves to get in is

r e a ll y absu rd, because so un neces sa ry. J a m e s Tooley poin t s

ou t t h a t wh ile in poor cou n t r ie s t h e s t a t e ca n n ot fu n d

u n i ve r s it i es , t h e p r iv a t e s ect or ca n a n d does fi ll the void .42

T h is sugges ts tha t th e pre judice aga ins t the p r i va t e s ect or

in a r ich count ry l ike Br i ta in ha s never bee n ot h e r th a n al u xu r y er ror . We w e r e r ich en ough to a fford pu blic fina ncin g

of higher educat ion when n um bers were sma l l ; there wa s

never a pos it ive ca se for t h is, h owev er , and wit h p r es en t

a n d pr ojected n um ber s st at e pr ovision is n ow me rely a n

imp ossibilit y.

Most un iver sit ies a re th er efore be ing d ra gged t oda y insome res pects in t he dir ection of pr ivat e fi n a n ce simply by

p r e ss u r e of event s. U nive rs ities un willin g or u n a b l e t o

follow an y of the pr ocedu re s we d iscuss below will find

th emselves in t ole r a bl y t ied t o somet h i n g l ik e th e pr e se n t

p a t t e r n of res t r ic t ions , the i r conf inement a m ore or less

m e ch a n i s t ic r es u lt of exce ss ive r eli a n ce on core fu n d in g by

t h e s t at e. T h e s a m e effect will re su lt, bu t in mor e gen er al-

ised form, i f there a r e not rap id and profound sh i ft s ingov er n m e n t u n de r st a n di n g a n d p olicy. A n d i f th e id ea of

f reedom a n d a u t on om y sh ou l d become r e-est ab lish ed, if

m a n y un ivers it i e s do su ccee d i n r ea ss er t in g t h eir fre ed om

a n d au tonomy, i t will be d ifficu lt for p u bli cly fin a n cedins t i tu t ions , those which have fa i l ed t o dr aw sign ificant ly

on p r iv a te sou r ce s of fu n din g , t o m a i n ta i n th e fi ct ion t h a tth ey belong to the sam e int e llect u a l ge n u s a s i n st it u t ion s

t h a t h a v e s u cce ss fu l ly m a de t h e t r a n s it ion b a ck t o p r iv a cy

a n d independen ce. I t mu st be as serted overall , however,

t h a t w h il e con di t ion s for r efor m look good , t h e cou n t r y a n dits high er educa t ion sys tem cannot t ru ly be seen as ready

a n d pr e pa r ed for s u ch r e for m .

INDEP ENDE NCE OR S TAGNATION?38

43 Norm an Bar ry, ‘Privat ising U niver sity E duca tion’ in Tooley,

Buckin gham at 25 , 2001, pp. 211-27.

W it h m a t t e r s of p ol icy , a s N or m a n B a r r y p o ints out , we

need to g r a sp th e e xt en t to w h ich a m is s i s a s g ood a s a

mile. Since the 1980 s govern men ts h a v e grasped in a c rude

sense h ow im por t a n t u niversities a r e t o econom ic life. W h at

th ey have not un ders tood is how to conceptu alise th is, let

a lon e how to chart i t . We now find our h igher ed u ca t ionentr app ed in a v a st regu latory bur eau cracy tha t ha ra sses

i n s t it u t ion s wit h ou t r em ot ely en cou r a gin g t h eir r a t ion a l

econom ic b eh a v iou r .43 In a n y ca s e , s u cce s si ve gov er n m e n t s

h a v e clung obstinat ely to a num ber of fa n t a sy -be lie fs t h a t

today ar e quite incredible.

Am on g t h e most notable of these is t h e fantasy, sha red bygovern men t a n d m u ch of t h e popu lace a like, t ha t t he re is

s om e t h in g i n t r in s ically a dm ira ble a nd wort hw hile , an d in

add i t ion ben efici a l t o t h e w h ol e society, a b ou t t h e long-ter m

expa ns ion of high er edu cat ion. As long as su ccessive

govern men ts an d elect ora tes ar e give n t o s u ch w is h fu l

e r r or , i t is al l the m ore imp era tive t ha t u niver sity p olicy-m a k e r s seek sources of fi n a n ce ot h e r t h a n t h e pocke t s of t h e

ha rd-pressed ta xp a yer . It is n ot clea r th a t m ost wil l look

h a r d en ou g h .

In the even t th ere a r e ma ny d ifferen t opt ions we could

follow . Th e m os t im p or t a n t pol icy , t h ou g h , i s a g en e r a l

s t r a tegy r a t h er th a n a sp ecific m ea su r e, a pol icy for a

g en e r a l r ed u cti on in th e le vel of t a x a t ion, esp ecially t axa -

t ion on wea lth a n d in com e, a pol icy h a v in g m a n y fa v ou r a b lecon n ot a t ion s in ad dition to i ts promise of impr ovements t o

u n iv er s i t y fin a n ce a n d m a n a gem en t . As a sp ecific b a ck -

gr ou n d req uir em en t for t he pr iva t i s a t ion of a l l edu cat ion in

g en e r a l and o f h igher edu cat ion in p a r t icu l a r , h o we ve r , t h ismeasu r e dwa rfs in to in sign ifican ce all oth er a lter na tive

policies .

A gener a l po l i cy for ta x-reduc t ion

T h e pur e a n d honest in hea r t , w h o m a y n ot be a s n u m e r ou s

a s they ought to be , wi ll ce lebra te the par t played by lower

i n com e t a x , a n d l ow e r cor p or a t i on t a x , i n t h e r eg en e r a t i on

O’K E E F F E A N D MA RS L AN D 39

44 Sir Gr ah am Hi lls, ‘Wh o Own s t he Un iver sit ies ? Th e Ba tt le for

University In dependence an d against the Depen dency Culture’,

Economic Affairs, vol. 21, no. 3, September 2001, p. 15.

of t h e Bri t ish econ om y in t h e 1980s a n d 1990s, a process t h e

n e ce s sa r y r e for m s for w h i ch t h e L a b ou r P a r t y of t h e t im e

fought all the wa y, though it loves to bask t oday i n th e

Th a tch er in h er it a n ce a s if it wer e it s ow n cre a ti on.

T h a t dist ingu ish e d s ch o la r S i r Gr a h a m H i ll s t h i n k s t ha t

a fis ca l p olicy of s t a t e r e t re n ch m e n t t od a y, on e spe cificallya im e d at pr ivat ely based r egenera tion of the s o-called

‘pu blic se r vice s’, wou ld n ot h a v e a ch a n ce of w or k in g in t h is

cou n t r y .44 We d o not a t a ll see why an d indeed we disagree

profoundly w it h h i m . O n t h e con t r a ry , a clea r pol icy for a

redu ction in what r emain pena l leve ls of taxa t ion i s a

necessary pr elu d e for t h e reinv igoration of edu cation in thiscoun try. It s ot h er n a m e is th e vi gor ou s p r u n in g of t h e

grotesque b u r e a u cr a c ie s t ha t h a v e b a t te n ed on t o ou r

edu cat ion sy st em in r ece n t de ca de s, s in ce t h e p r u n in g of

ot ios e bureau cracy i s la rge ly the sam e t h in g a s a r ed u cti on

in taxa tion, i t not being possible to achieve th e l a t t er

w it h ou t ca r r y in g ou t t h e for m e r .

S u ch a r e d u ct i on i n ge n e r a l t a xat ion, t o be su ccessful,

w ou l d n ee d t o be com pr eh en si ve a n d a im ed a s fa r a sposs ible a t a f i sca l res t ructur ing onto consum ption. The

ha rdn osed a im of t h e pol icy wou ld be to r ed u ce t h e s h a r e of

t h e n a tional wealt h going to governm ent, an d to alter the

com p os it i on o f t h e s h a r e th e gover nm en t r eta ine d, m oving

its s ou r ce a w a y from direct t o in di r ect t a xa t ion . I t is i n d irect

t a xa t ion tha t sh ould carry th e burd en of governmen tfina nce as fa r a s pos s ib le . I n com e s m u s t be fr e ed a t s ou r ce

t o in cr ea se t h e r a n ge of t h eir di scr et ion .

P o v e r t y i n a r i c h c o u n t r y su c h a s B r it a i n i s l i k e t h e

p u b l i c f in a n c e of h ig h e r ed u c a t i o n , a r e d u n d a n t

c o n st r u c t o f f a l se r ea s o n i n g

T h is would hu rt th e poor, bu t on ly t e m p or a r ily, since by

discou ra ging pover ty, it would als o ra pid ly dim inis h t he ir

num bers . Th e re lat ivist s a re fond of tellin g us th at int elli-

gen ce a n d even works of man i fes t genius r educe in th e end

INDEP ENDE NCE OR S TAGNATION?40

45 David Fr um , ‘It’s Big Govern men t St upid ’, Comm entary, Ju ne 1994.

46 As th e ne w Whit e Pa per insis ts. Th e Fu tu re of H igh er E du cati on , p. 8:

‘The social class gap in entry to higher education remains u naccept-

ably wid e.’

t o cons t ru c t s of power and p rivileg e. As a gen er al ca se, t his

is non sen se. It does a pp ly ver y pr ecisely, h owev er , to

pover ty in t h e m o de r n a ffl u en t economies . Poverty is indeed

a con s t r u ct of s en t im e n t a l a n d p a tr on i si n g fol ly . An y k in d

of m a s s pov er t y s h ou l d h a v e b ee n r em a i n de r ed lon g a go.

Da vid F r u m r i g h t ly su ggest ed in a fa m ous ar ticle in

Comm entary a few y ea rs ago t ha t t he tr illions of public

dolla rs swir ling a rou nd th e U S econom y wer e fina ncin g

most of Am e r ica ’s n on s en s e, a n d we believe th at pover ty is

a notable ca se in poin t .45 Brit ish nonsense is n ot l ikely to be

obeyin g differen t la ws. All t axa tion on in come a nd pr ofits

a n d proper ty should be dras t ica l ly cur ta i led , and the s ta te

s h ou ld be se ek in g t o pl a y a sm a lle r pa r t in ou r econ om ic

dest inies . T h e logic could ha rdly be s impler. If citizens h a ve

larger disposable incomes because of tax-redu ctions, th ey

will have more to spend on p r iva te edu cation or wh atever

else they pr iorit ise.

M or e ov er , su ch a policy is l ikely in i tself to create a

growth in rea l and disposable incomes. Nor, i t should be

added , d oe s t h e p r e s en t p o licy/hab it of pu blicly fina ncin g

t h e bulk of higher edu cation resu lt in significan t nu mber s

of t h e p oor g et t in g to u niver sity in th is coun tr y.46 U n d e r a

ré gim e of priva te fu nd ing, it mig ht ind e e d be deemed

n e ce s sa r y for t h e s t a t e t o s u p pl y s om e of t h e wh erewit h a l

for brigh t s tuden ts f rom very poor backgrounds t o g et i n t o

higher ed u ca t ion . Th e p r es en t di sp en sa t ion is for the m ost

p a r t me rely on e of chu rn ing over mid dle-class mon ey as

high ly taxed m iddle-cl a s s pe opl e a r e gi ven cost ly t u it ion

an d sta te su pported loan s at the p ublic expense.

T h e r e i s al so a m ost r egr ett ab ly re gre ssive elem en t in

p r es en t fisca l a r r a n gem en t s, w h ich leaves the poores t

g roups , whose children do not go to college, con t r ib u t in g t o

t h e b et t e r -off e le m e n t in t h e popula t ion th a t sup pl ies most

of t h e s tudent s . P r iva t e fi n a n ce w ou l d rem ove t h is a n om a l y.

Sim ult an eous ly, a s h i ft t o in d i r ect t a xa t ion wou ld bot h

O’K E E F F E A N D MA RS L AN D 41

47 Bar ry Br acewe ll-Milnes , Euthanas ia for Dea th Du t i es : pu t ti ng

Inheritance Tax out of Its Misery, IEA, 2002, p. 22.

en coura ge people to exit from the pover t y tr ap an d p er m it

tar geted fina ncial help to be brought to bear on clever

child re n fr om ver y low-income ba ckgr oun ds. T his d oe s n ot

a t all m e a n t h e s a m e a s t h e p r es en t policy of p u s h in g in t h e

di r ect ion of u n i ve r si ty m a n y t h ou s a n d s of ch i ld r en w h o

h a v e n o a p t i t u d e for i t .

Som e t a x -r e d u ct i on s a r e s imp ly c lear ing -up exerc i ses

S om e ta xes on pr oper ty d o not yie ld mu ch an d th eir r e t en -

t ion is in th e m ain n ot even a ma tter of s p it e fu l p rop i t ia t ion

of e n v y. It s t em s r e a ll y from m e r e inert ia. B ar ry B ra cewell-

Milnes h a s r igh t ly s a id th a t de a t h -du t ies yie ld on ly s om e

1.5 p e r ce n t of In land Revenue rece ip t s , pa r t of the govern-

m e n t ’s ‘smal l chan ge’ as he pu t s it. 47 N ot m u ch , b u t ou r

ha rd-pressed un iver sit ies w ould find it he lpful i f som e of

t h e fu n d s r ece iv ed b y s t r u gg ling hous eholds were relieved

by p r oba t e fr om t h e ir p a r en t s ’ p r u d en ce , ju s t wh e n t h e

lat ter s’ gra nd childr en ar e ap plyin g for un ivers ity.

B u i ld i n g u p r e q u is i te i n te r es t g r ou p s

To en cou r a ge p ot en t ia l p r iva t e d em a n d for h igh er ed u ca -

t ion , t h e cu r r en t t re a su r y m a n t r a a b ou t level pla yin g fi e lds

s h ou l d b e r u t h le ss ly pu sh e d t o one side. Wha t can ‘level

pla ying field’ me an in a n economy wh ere 4 0 p er ce n t of t h e

n a t ion a l i n com e p a ss es t h r ou g h gov er n m e n t h a n ds , t o t h e

a d va n t a ge of m a n y p er v er s e in t e r es t s ? T h e r e a r e good a n d

b a d in t er es t s. If we h a d no t , for d eca des in th e Brit ish case,

subsidised th e pu rch as e of priva te h ous in g, m illion s m or e

t od a y would st ill eke out th eir live s in coun cil housing. We

ca n now e limin at e su bsid ies, t he ha bit of pur cha sin g

pr iva te dw ellin gs h a vin g be come a n ir re ver sib le in te re st .

We ne ed n ow, in ed uca tion an d h ealt h, wh at we h ave

a lr ea dy a ch iev ed in h ou si n g, a pr ope r econ om ic a pp a r a t u s

of mod er nit y, wh ich in clud es a n e xte ns ive a nd ra tion ally

entr enched int ere st grou p, wit h a n in sist en ce on pr ivat e

ow n er s h ip of e d u ca t i on a l a s s et s a n d a d ee pl y r a t ion a l a n d

INDEP ENDE NCE OR S TAGNATION?42

re as ona ble sense of i t s own in t e r es t a s a m a i n st r e am

p r eoccu p a t ion . The bu rden of income tax sh ould fall , but

even wit hin t h a t sma ller m a r g in , given tha t th e tax-burd en

will rem ain excessive for a long t im e, edu cat iona l expe nd i-

t u r e should be su bsidised by tax reliefs. The presen t

in teres t n exu s i n h igh er ed u ca t ion , by cont ra st , favour ing

h i gh t a xa t ion a n d ch e a p un iver sit ies, is ve ry d ispu ta ble in

principle, ind eed lar gely a ma tter of lon g -t e r m h a bi tu a t ion .

I t s h ou ld be re pla ced by a low ta xat ion-ré gim e, wh ich will

‘con s t r u c t ’ a n i n t er e s t gr ou p e n joy in g ve r y su bst an tia l ta x-

b r e a k s in r ela t ion to its edu cat iona l ar ra nge m en ts , lead ing

t o t h e pr iva te purchase by ci ti zen s ou t of in cr ea se d d is pos -

ab le incomes, of a very price-diverse s e t of un iver sit y

courses , the un ivers i t ies involved drawing most of th eir

r e ve n u e fr om p r iv a te fees r a t h er t h a n fr om g ov er n m e n t

funds .

I t i s t rue tha t tax-breaks wou ld pe r pe t u a t e s om e of t h e

subsidised co n s u m p t io n t h a t in p r in ci pl e w e d ep lor e ; b u t

t h e m o r e g en e r a l fun ctionin g of rat ionally priced unive rs ity

edu cat ion w ou l d m or e t h a n com p e n s a t e for th is deficiency.

Because it wou ld d raw incr ea sin gly on p riva te fu nd s, it

w ou l d ine xora bly con d u ce to a m o r e m a r k e t-n a t u r a l b a la n ce

bet ween cu r r icu l a r consumpt ion a n d cu r r icu l a r i n ve st m e n t

a t u n iver sity an d i t would simu ltan eously reduce wast e.

When it comes t o th eir own mon ey people ar e less likely t o

‘pl a y s illy bu gge r s’, to u se York sh ir e id iom .

T h e economic a p p a r a t u s of m o d er n i t y a n d t h e e d u c a -

t i o n a l s h o r t f a l l t h e r e i n

O n e of t h e pa r adoxes of economic modern ity in th e richer

societie s is the exten t to which th eir educat ional arr an ge-

m e n t s a re not them selves fu l ly pa id-up examples of t h e

‘m od er n ’ condit ion. Moder nit y d oes include a spec iali sed

di vis ion of i n t ellectu al labour wit h a large recru itmen t, but

t h is is a ne cessa ry, n ot a su fficien t d efinit ion . To meet the

full cr it e r ia of e con om i c m od er n it y, t h e or g an i sa t ion of

l ea r n in g m u s t a ls o i ts el f i n cl u de a s a n i n te gr a l fe a t u re t h e

developed a pp a ra tu s of t h e m ode rn m a rk et . Ind eed , th is

O’K E E F F E A N D MA RS L AN D 43

48 More properly we can say this of the whole education system . See

Den nis O ’Keeffe, Poli tica l Cor rect nes s an d P ub lic F in an ce, IEA, 1999.

ma rket presence must a l so be tr ue of the lar ge-scale

produ ction of al l p riv at e good s . In th e h igh er ed u ca t ion a l

a r r a n g e m e n t s of coun t r ies lik e B r it a in , we se e t h e con t r a -

di ctor y p h en om e n on of a social is t orga n isa t ion of u n i ve r s it y

life, based on pu blic fina nce and egali tar ian ideologies.48

We ca n de fin e t h e h igh er ed u ca t ion a l sh ort fall in th is

r espect factually, descriptively, in ter ms of what edu ca -

t ion a l a r r a n gemen t s are, or nega t ively , counterfactu ally , in

t er m s of wha t th ey a re not . Edu ca t iona l socia lism , th e

rea lity, mea ns overwhelm ing reliance within the h igher

edu cat ion system on pu blic fi n an ce a n d t h e n e a r im poss ibil-

ity of t h e s en i or m a n a ger s of th e sys tem ach ievin g re ally

high in com es a n d s u b s t a n t ia l p r iv a t e w e a lt h . It is a syst em

w it h ina dequ at e pr oper ty r ight s a nd consequ en tly a n

inflexib le orga n isation of resources. I t is a syst em wh ere

those wh o wou ld be com e w ea lt h y m u st lea ve t h e e du ca -

t ion a l wor ld , with its p ub lic proper ty, i ts coercion (we refer

to t h e intolerable a p p a r a tu s of spy ing a n d ar m-t wist ing), it s

s t a t e i n tr u s ion a n d r e gu l a t ion , its ‘bureau cra t ic cent ra l i sm’

a n d ‘su bsid ised inn ova t ion ’, a n d e n t er th e r is ky wor ld of

capitalism proper.

T h e sociological penum bra to B r it is h h igh er ed u ca t ion ’s

i n a d eq u a t e e con om i c a r r a n ge m en t s in cl u de s a p ow er fu l

nom enklatu ra , on e w h ich , h ow ev er , h a s ne ith er owne rs hip

of n or full responsibi l i ty for the a ssets of the system it r u n s.

N or doe s i t r ece ive a de qu a t e r ew a r ds or pu n is h m en t s for

the academic resul t s to which tha t sys tem leads .

T h e h yp ot h et ica l ‘fre e e n t er pr is e h igh er ed u ca t ion

system ’, by con t r a s t , involves a th orough ly bour geois world ,

w h ich inclu des not only t h e la r ge m id dl e cla ss wh ich n ow

op e r a t e s the s ocialist version of the s ystem bu t a lso, above

t h is admin i s t r a t ive cl a s s , a n ed u ca t iona l bourgeoi s ie

p r op e r , w h os e l a rge bu t p re ca r iou s for t u n es a n d fa m e

d ep en d on t h e r e a l ou t p u t of t h e p r iva t e edu cat iona l syst em

whose t ra dable assets th ey control and often own ou t r i gh t .

Sch ools an d colleges in m an y in sta nces will be t h e p r ope r t y

of th is ed u ca t ion a l bou r geoi si e. A v igor ou s m a r k e t i n

INDEP ENDE NCE OR S TAGNATION?44

49 The identification of Universities UK a s a cart el we owe to a recent

conve rs at ion w ith Pr ofess or C olin Robin son at th e In st itu te of

Econom ic Affair s. Th e re cent pub lication by Un ivers ities UK, The

University Culture of Enterprise: Knowledge Transfer Across the

Nat ion, 2002, is a m onum ent of self-rega rd a nd comp lacent postu rin g.

e du ca t ion a l asse ts would ty pify t h es e a rr a n gem en ts , an d

t r a d in g in ed u ca t ion cou ld in pr in cip le b ecom e a s com m on -

place as t ra d ing in manu factures or banking s tocks .

The n eed for for -prof i t un ivers i t i e s

I t i s t r u e t h a t w e n ow ha ve only on e pr ivat e u nive rs ity in

t h is cou n t r y a n d n o n a t i ve ‘for pr ofit’ ones . Th is could soon

ch a n g e, and probably will. In t h is sen se s ome of th e Am er i-

ca n un iver sit ies n ow oper at ing for-pr ofit fra nch ises in t h is

cou n t r y must be regar ded a s sources of economic em ula tion .

For -profit u n iversities w ou l d br in g a h e a lt h y a n d p roduct ive

dynamism to t h e w h ol e system . T h is w ou l d be t h e case even

w h e r e m ost pr iva t e u n ive r si t ie s w er e n ot for -pr ofit on es .

T h e bott om lin e dyn am ism of inte llectu al r ep roduct ion a n d

in n ova t ion w ou l d der ive from those t h a t were for-profit. Th e

overa ll syst em would ine vit a bly en d u p a s a ‘m ixe d e con -

omy’ of hig h er ed u cat ion , a t least for t h e pr edict ab le fu t u r e;

fa r from ideal but b et t er b y a l on g wa y th an th e effectively

m on opo li s t ic, m o st l y s t a t e -fu n d e d s ys t e m w e h a v e n ow , t o

w h ich Un iver sit ies U K cons tit ut es a mos t u nin spir ing a n d

self-congra tu lat ory ca rt el.49

V ou c h er s p l u s t o p u p

In t h e e a r ly y ea r s of p r iv a ti sa t ion , govern men t involvement

will r em a in h ea vy. T h is pe r sis t en ce cou ld , in th e lon g r u n

a n ywa y, at lea st in p rin ciple, en ab le h ighe r ed uca tion t o

e xp er im e n t with a voucher system sim ilar t o t h a t wh i ch

pol it ica l man agement h as m ost ly been too coward ly to

im ple m e nt lower down the edu cation system . One fre-

quen t ly touted r e for m is effectively a vou cher s ch e m e unde r

wh ich ea ch st u de n t qu a lifie d r ece ive s a ba si c ‘vou ch er ’ or

s t a n d a r d u n i ve r s it y p a ym e n t on t op of which un iversit ies

ad d ext ra fees a t t he ir d iscre t ion . This was the f ir s t opt ion

O’K E E F F E A N D MA RS L AN D 45

50 Quoted in Dickson, ‘UK universities a nd th e sta te’, 2001, p. 27.

51 It is noted on p. 4 and again on p. 8, which latter page opines that the

social class gap in entr y to higher ed ucation is t oo wide. On p. 17 we

are informed that the children of professional people are five times as

likely to go to university as those of working-class background. All we

can say t o such exotic statist ics, is: so what ? Why should th is be

th ought of as hu rt ful or ins ult ing?

favour ed by the T aylor Report , comm issioned by U nive rs i-

t ies UK.50 Th is pol icy, if e n a ct ed , would help gener ate a

r a t ion a l sprea d o f un iver sit y pr icing t ha t w ould per m it

m u ch mor e sen sit ive deci si on -m a king on the par t o f would-

be s t u d e n t s a n d a ll ow u n i ve r s it i es t o m ak e in pa ra llel a

r a t ion a l a p p r a i sa l of t h e ir s t r en g t hs a n d we a k n es s es a n d

align th em se lve s a ccord in gly on th e s pe ctr u m between

‘cheap for th e s t ud en ts bu t s ub ject t o govern m en t cont rols

a n d res t r i ction s’ an d ‘dea re r t o th e st ud en ts bu t en joying

m or e fu n ct ion a l a u t on om y ’.

T h e Whi t e Pa per a n d t h e e xc el l en c e/e q u a l i ty t en s i on :

t h e ‘a c c es s r e g u la t o r ’

Pr edict ab ly the L abour governm en t is n ot goi n g t o p u r s u e

t h e voucher route. Th e big problem at p re sen t is t h a t th e

funds for s o m a n y p e op l e w a n t i ng t o go to u nive rs ity w ill

n ot read ily be forthcoming. Let u s n ot l ose s ight of th is .

Sa dly, b u t predictabl y, t h e d eb a t e is clu t t er ed u p b y ou r old

Br itis h class obsessions. T h e old n ot ion t h a t it is unfair t h a t

peop le from lower social class posit ions should en ter

u n i ve r s it y i n si gn i fi ca n t ly sm a l le r pr op or t ion a t e n u mber s

t h a n those from higher groups is a r epeat ed th em e of T h e

Futu re of H igh er E d u cat ion .51 Indeed the Wh ite Pa per

m a n i fe s t s a sour ega l ita r ian ism a longs ide i t s gen e r a ll y

comm enda ble de si r e t o se ek exce lle n ce, a lon g wi t h m or e

funds . I t is a n ea r per fect exa mp le of one ad min istr at ive

h a n d n o t k nowin g what the oth er is up to. I t seeks higher

i n t ellect u a l qu a lit y by tr yin g t o pu t h igh er ed u ca t ion to

s om e ext en t ba ck i n tou ch wit h th e e lem en t a r y fa cts of

su pp ly a n d demand. I t does n ot adm it t ha t t his is wh at it is

doing , but i t is . T h a t th e a dm is si on is n ot m a de is com pr o-

m i si n g in it se lf. To p u t th e t r u t h blu n t ly, for too l on g we

INDEP ENDE NCE OR S TAGNATION?46

52 Th e Fu tu re of H igh er E du cati on , p. 9.

53 The T imes Higher Educa t ion Supplemen t, 27 Ju ne 2003, p. 2.

h a v e s h ie d a wa y fr om the indispensabi l ity of mar kets to

adva nced civilisat ion. H ighe r ed uca tion policy is virt u a l ly

c r ipp led , h owever , by th e La bour Pa rt y’s se nt im en ta l,

r e si du a l Mar xisant fanat icism, i ts pr eference for equ a lity

over excelle n ce , a t w h a t e ve r cos t t o t h e la t t e r . T h u s t h e

Whi t e Pa per envisages every un ivers ity wish ing to increas e

t h e level of fees, as f irst h aving to dra w up a n Access

A gr e e m en t , des igned for r e a ch i n g dis advant aged s tudents .

Moreov er , a n ‘Access Re gu la tor ’ will be app ointed to oversee

these a r r a n gem en t s. T h is la st id ea h a s n ot fou n d fa vou r

w it h Vice-C h a n cell or s. Let us give the t hing i ts r eal na me,

‘Pe ople’s C om m issa r for P r ol et a r ia n Ad va n ce m en t ’, a n d

hope tha t in t ime i t i s p roper ly d ropped . C e r ta i n ly th e

fa m ily lik en es s t h is id ea be a r s t o t h e b a n is h ed wor ld of t h e

Soviet fantasy is qu i t e un m ist ak ab le. The new Wh ite Pa per

re vea ls t ha t , ra th er relu cta nt ly, the gr adu ate t a x is t h e wa y

t h e governm ent i s going to go.52 T h e r e will be s om e r e cou r se

t o pr ivat e m onies. T he re w ill also be m ore pu blic mon ey.

F r o m 2004 a b ou t a t h i r d of s tudents wi l l ben efit from a n ew

g r an t o f up to £1 ,000 per a n n u m for lower income s tudents .

Sign ifican tly, h o we ve r , fr o m 20 0 6 u n d e r a n e w gr a d u a t e

con t r ibu t ion scheme, un ivers it i e s wil l be a l lowed to ch a r g e

u p to £3,000 per ann um per course. This seem s a s an idea

by fa r t h e m o s t im p o r t a n t i n n ov a t io n of t h e n e w p a ck a ge,

a n d i t might conceivably be taken as a pointer t o lik ely

fu t u r e developments . On closer inspect ion the p olicy does

n ot in sp ir e con fid en ce. F ir st of a l l ther e is huge r esistan ce,

from L a bou r M P s a s m u ch a s fr om un iversit y per son ne l.

T h is all iance is ha rdly sur prising, given tha t t h e y a r e

lar gely th e s a m e con s t i t u en c y. By la t e J u n e 2 00 3 a s m a n y

a s 170 Labou r MP s ha d signed e a r ly da y m ot ion s op p os in g

t h e cha nge s in s t u de n t finan ce.53 On Mon da y 23 J u n e s om e

140 of th em def ied a th r ee -lin e gov er n m en t wh ip on th e

q u e s t ion . We mi g h t b e m a k i n g a m is t a k e t h e n t o s e e t h e

W h i t e P a p e r a s p r oof of a cl ea r d e s ir e t o m a k e p r iv a t e

cit izens contr ibu te t o grea ter econom ic ra tion alit y in t h e

O’K E E F F E A N D MA RS L AN D 47

54 The T imes Higher Educa t ion Supplemen t, 27 Ju ne 2003, p. 2.

55 Obs erv er, 6 April 2003, ‘Home News’.

56 Th e Fu tu re of H igh er E du cati on , pp. 8-9.

a r r a n g e m e n t s of high er ed uca tion . On fur th er ins pect ion

t h e policy has n o such c lar i ty . The s t r en g th of th e de sir e is

v er y u n clea r. F or on e t h in g, wh ile t h e govern men t is t a lk in g

t ou g h a n d s a ys it wil l n ot give wa y on th e policy,54 i t h a s t o

d a t e p u l le d ba ck fr om e ve r y other s e r iou s p r op os e d r e for m

of the welfare st ate. So we cannot be sure about outcomes .

C on d it ion s are r ipe for refor m b u t th e will is s eem ingly

w e a k .

T h e policy is a lso cru cially fla wed by it s a llian ce with

socia l engineer ing. Indeed in s u ch a pol icy t h e w a r between

t h e tw o di ffer en t fact ion s of m ode r n La bou r h a s b ecom e

i n ca r n a t e . If u n ive r si t ies wa n t to ch a r g e t op -up fees they

will h a v e t o d oct or t h e ir in t a ke to inclu de m o r e st a t e s ch ool

pupi ls a n d lower in com e st u d e n t s. T r ue, t h e r e a r e n o s t a t ed

targe ts . Th e ‘Access Regu la t or ’ wil l, h owe ver , m on it or

un iversit ies t o en su re th at th eir policies a re su fficien tly

e ga l it a r ia n .55 We a re inclin ed t o th ink th at th e in toler ab le

bu sin ess of clever children being t ur ned a w a y because t h ey

a r e too middle class will be given a boos t if t h e p olicy w or ks

a n d t h a t t h e e xt r a fee in com e generat ed m a y pr ove n ot t o be

w or t h the socia l p ri ce p a i d . In an y case th e Regu lat or will

n ot s t a rt t ill 2 00 5 a n d t h e t op-u p m on ey w ill n ot be in t r o-

duced t i l l 2006.

T h e l e v yi n g o f a g r a d u a t e t a x

T h ou g h r ejectin g vou chers, t h e govern men t, in plu m pin g for

t op -u p fees, is in s om e d e gr ee followin g Ta ylor . Accord ingly ,

th erefore, minist ers h ave gone for a rég ime of g radua te

t a xa t ion , wher eby students pay back t h e fees origin ally p a id

by t h e gov er n m e n t .56 A s w e s h all see, a m odi cu m of p r es en t

pol it ica l accep tab i li ty is sought by the delayin g of the evil

momen t of init iat ion unt i l 2006.

This , t h e pol icy favour ed by t h e p r e se n t gov er n men t , wa s

a lso th e second option favoured by Taylor . The idea i s tha t

s t u d e n t s wi ll pay back par t of th eir t u i t ion cost s, once t he ir

INDEP ENDE NCE OR S TAGNATION?48

57 Dickson, ‘UK un iversities an d the s tat e’, 2001, p. 27.

incom e reaches a certa in level. This option could h ave been

us efully com bin ed w ith the first option, th e voucher.57 It is

t o b e r e gr e t te d t h a t the voucher rou te is no t to be fo llowed ,

si n ce i t h a s a p ra isewor th y as pect of imp ers ona lity a nd

un ivers alit y. As to fees , t h e y a r e n e v er p op u l a r in a s oci et y

t h a t w as t a u gh t u n t il n ot lon g a go n ot to e xpe ct t h em , an d

t h e r e will be some a dverse re act ion to those priced n e a r t h e

£3,000 per ann um m aximum, a lways s u p pos in g sign ifica n t

n u m b e r s of un iversities t ake u p t h e opt ion . Dou bt les s s om e

s t u d e n t s will be deterr ed by th e pr ospect of sizea ble r epa y-

ments . To w h ich on e is inclined to s a y th a t in t h is ca s e s u ch

s t u d e n t s cann ot be very serious . The k in d of r e ck on i n g

involved for s t u de n t s or t h e ir p a r en t s is , a ft e r al l, fa r less

com pl ica ted t h a n th e mortga ge finan ce most cit izens

u n d e r t a k e t h e se da y s, a n d a lot less oner ous . We wou ld

r a n k it s com pl ex it y w it h t h e p u r ch a si n g of a n e w is h ca r or

b u d ge t in g for a n a n n u a l h ol id a y ou t of similar ly l imited

funds .

At pr es en t, t h oug h , t h e t ax-based provision of govern-

m e n t m on e y will con t i n u e to domina te. T h e govern men t will

con t in u e t o p a y t h e fi r st £1 ,10 0 of fee s for st u de n t s fr om

lower income fa m i li es . U p -fr on t fe es wi ll be a bol is h ed a n d

a l l stu dent s will be pe r m it t ed to d efer th eir con t r ibu t ion t o

t h e cos t of t h ei r cou r s e u n t il t h ey h av e g ra d u a t ed . F r om

Apr il 2005 s tudent s will not have to s t a r t r e pa y in g th eir fee

con t r ibu t ion or t h e ir m a in t e n ance loa n u n t i l t h e y a r e

e a r n in g £15,000 per an nu m (form erly £10,000 per an nu m ).

T h is h e dg in g r ou n d of f inan cia l innovat ion s ignals the

ide ologica l ba tt les ra gin g in ed u cat ion a l h igh pla ces.

I t i s e s t im a t e d t h a t ‘u p a n d r u n n i n g ’ t h e n e w g r a d u a t e

con t r ibu t ion schem e will raise s om e £1.5 bil lion per a n n u m .

Pu blic sp en din g on h igh er ed u cat ion is d u e t o ris e by £2.3

bil lion over the n ext t h ree years, from £7.6 bill ion th is yeart o £9.9 bill ion in 2005, or six per cent per an nu m in r eal

term s. In other words th e new pr ivat e fees w ill not kick in

u n t i l a ft e r t h e g ov er n m e n t h a s a lr ea dy p r ovid ed bil lion s

m o r e from the pu blic pur se. Th e p r op er si gn ifica n ce of t h e

fees is t ha t, following on th e le ss a m bit iou s ch a n ges of

O’K E E F F E A N D MA RS L AN D 49

r e ce n t yea rs , th ey r epr esen t a pote nt ial fu rt he r b re ach in

t h e n a t ion ’s r eli a n ce on t h e pu blic pur se. In t h e lon g-r u n th e

w a ll s of h a b it u a t ion w il l ca v e i n u n de r t h e r e le n t le ss a n d

irr esis tib le p r e ss u r e of t h e laws of su pp ly a n d d em a n d . T h is

does not mean t here i s a s t r on g pu bli c wil l for r a t ion a l

r efor m .T h e intr oduction of fees is , predictably, p r ovin g s low i n

t h e ex t r em e. T h is is t h e s h or t e r -t e r m laws of pol i t ics a t

w or k . We n oted ea rli er th a t th er e is h u ge op pos it ion from

m a n y ba ckb en ch L a bou r M P s. T h e Futu re of Higher E du -

cat ion w a s published in J a n u a r y 2003, a n d t h e in com e fr om

t op -u p fe es will n ot com e on s tr ea m for t h r ee m or e years .T h e r eform is, m oreover , fairly t im id, in pu re ly fina ncia l

t erms, cert ain ly if we comp ar e th e £3,00 0 m axim u m wi t h

t h e fe es ch a r g ed a t t h e be t t er A m er i ca n u n ivers i t ies .

Professor Bruce Cooper of Fordham Univers i ty informs u s

t h a t Ivy League U niversit ies char ge upwa rds of $30,000 a

y ea r . T h ou g h t h e m a jor ity of th e s tudent s , s om e 70 per cent ,get s u bv en t ion s a n d oth er rel iefs , t h e fee in com e received by

t h e m or e p r es t igiou s Am er ica n u n i ve r sities is u nd oubt edly

h u g e and th e main p r op of t h eir se cu r it y a n d i n t ell ect u a l

di st in cti on .

T h e B r i ti sh i n t en t i on t o ch a r ge t op -u p fe es is t h u s n o

m o r e th a n a poi n t er of pos si ble ch a n ges to com e fr om t h e

p r e se n t govern men t, though sooner or later som e gover n -

m e n t or oth er will h a v e to init iat e them . It seems p robable,a l l r eser va t ion s e n t er ed , t h a t wi t h in a de ca de , sh or t of a n

un th inka ble wholesale reve rs ion t o pub lic fun ds, h uge

in ject ion s of pr iva te fun din g, va st ly e xcee di n g £1 .5 b illi on

per a n n u m , w il l b e a v a il a bl e t o t h e s ys t e m , d e s pi t e t h epol it ica l a n d e du cat ion a l r es ist a n ce. The ra te of chan ge,

h owev er , re m a in s d es pe ra te ly sl ow.

Al te r n a tive ext r a pol icie s a r e cle a r ly n ee de d e ven for t h e

govern men t t o persis t with its p res en t s low-moving propos-

a ls , o therwise t h e h i gh e r e d u ca t i on s y s t em w i ll m a k e litt le

pr ogress i n ex it in g fr om i ts cu r r e n t s t r a it -ja ck e t. O n e

possibility would be to devise some s pecific for m u l a p er m it -

t in g un iver sit ies t ha t a chieve , sa y, 50 pe r cen t fin an cial

i n de pe n de n ce of t h e s t a t e, to wi thdra w from a l l nat ion-wide

INDEP ENDE NCE OR S TAGNATION?50

58 Sir G ra ha m H ills, ‘Who Owns t he U niver sitie s?’, 2001, p. 16 .

bu re au cra tic en t a n g le m en t . I n a n y ca s e w e t a k e t h e

ca u t iou s v iew tha t in h igher educa t ion, as in th e earlier

sta ges of i n s t r u ct ion, fu ll-blooded ed uca tion al s ocialism is

n ow in at least t he ea rly stages of a retr eat , some of t h e

m edicin e th at will be n eed ed h avin g a t lea s t been made

pu blic, however ten ta tively.

The n eed for r ea l i s t i c fees

Sir G r ah a m H ills r ight ly sa ys u niver sitie s m us t ch ar ge

re alis tic fees if t h ey a r e t o be com e in de pe n de n t a ga in . H e

also s t resses t h a t we must a v oid subsidising th e supp lier,58

a n d th e n ew fees w ould h elp in th is re gar d, th ough th e

m a x im u m of £3,000 is too low. The pol icy is modest . I t

migh t even so en coura ge m or e r ea lis t ic d ecis ion -m a ki n g of

a cu r ricu lar k ind, pr obab ly begin nin g t h e n e ce ss a ry process

of reining ba ck on soft social science and cor r u p t e d ar t s in

t h e m or e p r es t igiou s u n ive r sit ies a n d con cen t r a t in g s u ch

a n t in om i a n fa r e in t h e less pr es t igiou s un iver sit ies and less

high ly ra te d a re a s of u n iver sit y life, s u ch a s media s tudies .

T h e pos si bil it y of si gn ifica n t fee-i n com e will make a bigger

difference to rich un iversit ies t h a n t o p oor e r on e s, b u t t h is

is n ot int rin sically a b a d t h in g except in minds cor rup t ed by

th e envious imper atives of the welfar e sta te.

G o v er n m e n t f u n d i n g i n re t u r n f o r u n i v e r s i t y c u r r i -

cu la r su rr end er

Un fortu na tely, an other featu re of government po l icy made

its noisy public reappea ra nce in J u l y 2003: t h e govern m e n t

d em a n d in g m o r e ce n t r a l cu r r i cu l a r con t r ol in u niversit ies

in retu rn for increa sed fund ing. The problem i s t h a t t h e

u n folding pr essu re of ma rk et forces, wit h t he ir a bility t o

cope with a d ive r s ity of s t a tu se s a n d s u bt le d iffer en t ia t ion s

a m on g the in sti tu tions th ey spontan eously regulate, vies

w it h t h a t com p u ls iv e t em pt a t i on t o r es or t t o ar t i fi cia l,

coercive con t r ols th at a lways more or less captivat es

govern men t in the f ree soc iet ies . In t h e lon g r u n t h e marke t

will b r in g t o the u niversity world, as m uch a s to an y other

O’K E E F F E A N D MA RS L AN D 51

complex, a nd in c ruc ia l respects , econom ic rea lity, a g rea t er

clar ity. T h e d iffe r in g pu r p os es a n d fu n ct ion s of d iffe r en t

gra d es of un ive r s ity will become m ore ma n i fe s t , a n d we will

be a ble to s ee m or e cle a r ly w h ich u n iver s i t ie s ca n a n d

s h ou l d h a v e w h ich i n t el le ct u a l a sp ir a t ion s . U n d e r a m or e

r a t ion a l use of resour ces t h e r e will be a sha rper delin ea t ion

of t h e wid e va rie ty of ins tit ut ions , from é lite, t o mid dlin g,

to, ult ima tely, low-grad e ones. B u t t h e ‘lon g-r u n ’ m e a n s ju st

th at: i t ta kes tim e.

Un der mar ket condi t ions , it would be t h e su p p ly of a n d

d em a n d fo r un ivers i ty educa t ion , n ot t h e g ov er n m e n t , t h a t

w ou l d de cid e on n ew th ings , ra dical in nova t ion s s u ch a s

s om e u n i ve r siti es concen tr at ing on post -gra du at e te ach ing

a n d research , and o thers on u n d er g ra d u a t e t e a ch i n g a n d

y et ot h e r s de cid in g t o con t in u e w it h va r yin g com bin a t ion s

of b ot h . O n t h e ot h e r h and , estab lis h ed differen ces in

a ca d em ic accomplishm ent wou ld a l s o b e br o u gh t i n t o

s h a rper relief. T h e adminis tered, politicised system we h a ve

is obviously alread y associated with h ierar chies, ancient

a n d ne w, bu t t he y a r e h a m pered h ierar chies, compromised

by t h e id eologica l cont ra dict ion s of gover n m en t.

Un iversit ies wi ll , we have seen , be a l lowed to ra i se m o r e

fee-i n com e if t h ey w id en a cces s i n te r m s of socia l class . On

t h e ot h e r h a n d t h e y ca n g e t la rger su bs id ies f rom the state

if they axe l ess success fu l departm ents in th e in ter est s of

raisin g the B ritish contribut ion to élite un iversity work . I t is

a s if t h e m a n a g em e n t of u n i ve r s it i es w er e ad vised ly bein g

subjected to a mass s ch i zop h r en ia . S u ch m a n a ge m en t m u st

n ow be a nigh tm ar ish expe rie n ce for t h o se e n t r u s t ed w it h

it.

P e r i od i c i n sp e c t io n s c a n n o t r a i se st a n d a r d s

I f t h e n u m b e r of u n i ve r s it i es is s m a l l t h e n t h e on-going

e xp er ie n ce of h ig h er edu ca t ion by t h e s m a llis h pop u la t ion

of edu cat ed p eople i s t h e a p p r op r ia t e m od e for a s se ss m e n t

of st a n da r ds , h owe ve r h igh er ed u ca t ion is fin a n ced . I f t h e

n u m b er of un iver sit ies is lar ge, th e long-r un tr ut h is th a t

only pr ivat e fina nce st an ds m uch cha nce of sett ling t he

q u es t ion . T h e s t a t u s of u n ive r s it y d ep a r t m en t s ca n n ot

INDEP ENDE NCE OR S TAGNATION?52

pr oper ly be se t t led by b u r ea u cr a t ic com mit t ees , a s in t h e

course of t h e a b r a ca d a b r a vi si t a t ion s of t h e R es e a r ch

Assessmen t Ex er cise, e ve r y fou r or five years. These h a ppen

in cir cu m s ta n ce s of e xt r em e ar t ificiali ty. Success requires

t h e achievemen t of 5*, soon to be 6*, proxy governm ent

ra t ings . Anythin g less is a tar get for f iscal pu nish men t.

T h is is a system for th e perm an en t h u m il ia t ion of i n st it u -

t ion s of avera ge or lower th an avera ge intel lect u a l s ta tu s .

T h is com bin a t ion of fa r ce a n d st r i ct u r e is a p oor s u r r o-

g a t e for lon g-r u n pu blic ap pr eciat ion of var iat ions in

in t ell ect u a l dist inct ion. We s hou ld a ll k n ow n ow a bou t t h e

fe a r , m e n a ce a n d h y pocr is y s u r r ou n d in g s u ch g ov er n m e n t

ins t rum ents , as well a s t he ir hopeless ins en sit ivity. Th is

h a s be en clea r lowe r dow n th e s ys t em wit h th e op e r at ion s

of OFSTE D. In th e case of pu blic good s like d efe n ce a n d t h e

police, the s ta t e must n eeds devise ma rket proxies, faute d e

m ieu x . I n a m a ss ed u ca t ion sys t em on ly t h e m a r ke t ca n

p r oper ly med ia t e pu blic appr eciation of the rea l differences

in cogn it ive a chi eve m en t b y di ffere n t i n st it u ti ons .

The Bla ir governmen t h as been he lples sly torn bet ween

t h e ma nifest need t o cult ivat e world-class un iversit ies a n d

t h e soci a lis t im pe r a t ive for t h e le vel lin g of in st it u t ion a l

sta tu ses and the equa l is ing of resources . We know how the

con t r a d ict ion s of t h e system can be overcome. T h e m a r k e t ,

a n d only the m a rket , can d o it . What we do not know is

whet her t h e p r e se n t im pa ss e will be br ough t t o a r ea s on -

ab ly swift conclu sion , pr ecisely a n d only by recourse to m ore

ma rket resources . P robably i t will not be. The pr esent

sit ua tion s u g ge s t s t o u s t h a t un t il th e con t r a d ict ion s of t h e

u n i ve r s it y sy st em be com e s o a cu t e a s t o pa r a lys e it a lt o-

g et h e r , it wil l s t a gge r on in t h e con fu s ion i n wh i ch i t h a s

n ow languished for some decades . Potentia l for reform m a y

th us rem ain for long m er e pot en tia l.

T h e Tha tcher r evol u t ion in ind ust ry an d privat e services

w a s n ot ma de in a d ay. Ma rk et forces offer n o quick fix. As

t h e Brit ish 1980s showed, they r equire g overnm e n t s t o

disp lay un flinching courage in th e face of entren ched

in teres t if t h eir good ou tcom es a re eve r t o be a chi eve d. T o

fix ou r un iversit ies will be the work of years of determ ined

O’K E E F F E A N D MA RS L AN D 53

59 Daily Telegraph, 4 J uly 2003 , p. 1 . At D ur ha m t he Dep ar tm en t of

East Asian Studies is to close and the Depa rtm ent of Middle Eastern

an d Is lam ic St ud ies will l ose i ts un der gr ad ua te s a nd conce nt ra te on

post -gra du at e ed uca tion .

60 Br is tol announced a t t he same t ime tha t by 2007 it w il l be supp ly ing

no re sour ces to re sear ch act ivity not rea ching t he equ ivalen t of 5* in

th e 2001 RAE . Daily Telegraph, 4 July 2003, p .1.

govern men t. In J uly 2 003 t he th re at en ed u se of th e du ll

coer cion of govern men t fi n a n ce to crea t e élite i n s t it u t ion s by

excisin g weaker depar tm en t s t h r ou g h differen tia l fun din g,

cr e a t e d a pr ed icta ble u pr oar . T h is w a s b r ou g h t t o a hea d in

th e ca s e of As ia n S tu d ie s a t Du r h a m , a fa m ou s depar tm en t

t h a t h a d not cha lked up a h igh en ough ra tin g,59 b u t th e

r e ve r be r a ti on s soon s p r e a d t o ot h er inst i tut ions.60 I t is h a rd

t o a v oi d t h e s u g ge s t ion t h a t t h e p r es e n t gov er n m e n t o f

h igher edu cat ion will sta gger on , hop eless ly p u lle d t h is wa y

a n d th at by th e incom pa tib le re qu ire m en ts of élitism an d

equal i ty under a rég ime of publ ic monies .

E x ce l l en c e v er s u s eq u a l i t y

I n a free soc ie ty , supp ly a n d d e m a n d ou g h t on i n t e ll ect u a l

g rounds to vanqu ish ideologica l obses s ion every t ime. The

w a y to loa d the s t rugg le in favour o f the mar ke t impera t ive

is to les sen t h e bur den of t a xa tion on families and thu s free

u p t h e d is cr et ion a r y p owe r s of econom ic calcula tion . Sad ly,

h o we ve r , we k n ow from t h e lon g p os t -w a r dialectic between

excellence a n d equa li t y t h a t for 50 y ea r s t h e form e r —i n th e

s h a p e of the e l even -plus , gra m m a r s ch ool s, for m a l ly

str uctur ed t e a ch i n g, t ou g h , u n s e e n ex a m i n a t ion s in the ‘O’

a n d ‘A’ level as cend an cy—was r oun dly t rou nced by th e

l a t t er , i n t he sh a p e of com p r eh ensives, child-centred

ped agogy, th e a bolit ion of élit e ex a m in a ti ons , an d t h e

del ibera te lower ing of s tandards .

If t h e r e w e r e n ow a n i m pa r t ia l recourse to ev id en ce, i f we

looked at wh at does m ost for a ver a g e s t a n da r d s a n d w h at

most he lps t h e poor , t h e b a t tl e for r ea son wou ld be won .

Un fortu na tely, toda y th e forces of ‘equ alit y’ s e em d e t er -

m i n ed to side st ep a ll a r g u m en t a n d a ct a s t h ou g h th eir own

form er rec ipes for improvement ha ve not had the adverse

INDEP ENDE NCE OR S TAGNATION?54

61 Melan ie Ph illips ‘Thes e insid ious social en gineer s dest roying m erit

an d as pira tion ’, Daily Mail , 26 Febru ary 2003.

62 Dickson, ‘UK un iversities an d the s tat e’, 2001, p. 27.

effect s tha t ar e the case. Abolis h in g t h e el eve n -plu s, a n d

r e pl a cing se lect ive state schools with compr ehen sives

rem oved t h e m ech a n i sm s t h a t u n ti l 30 or so yea rs ago

a llow ed clever work ing-class childr en to ris e aca dem ically.

Pr ogressive ed u ca t ion a l t h eor y wi t h it s d is da in for d id a cti c

methods an d it s soft a ppr oach t o disciplin e pu t br ight

children fr om t h e wor k in g classes a t furt her disadva nt age,

a s d i d t h e cu lt u r a l r ela t ivis m th a t m a de so m u ch gr ou n d

from th e 1970 s, ar guin g th at th ere is n o such th ing a s

aest he tic or in t ell ect u a l su per iority, b u t on l y t h e e n t r en ch ed

in t ell ect u a l fa n cy of powerful groups. Having over decades

set u p t h e sch oolin g wor ki n g-cla ss ch ild r en r ece ive in su ch

a way as t o m a k e th em th e u n lik eli es t ca n di da t es for

a ca d em ic se lect ion , the progress ives n ow seek to bypass th e

d e ba t e an d ma ke th e un iversit ies adm it th eir favoured but

hyp ocritically n eglected can dida tes an ywa y.

F or s om e t im e t h e n ot or i ou s p r a cti ce of t u r n in g a wa y of

ca n d i d a t es from public schools and/or very well-educated

h om e s h a s be en com m on p lace. As M ela nie Ph illips p oint s

ou t , t h e r e h a s be en a pos t -code p r em iu m op er a t in g a t som e

univers i t ies , whereby be t te r grades a re requi red for s tu-

d e n t s fr om independent schools .61 Un iversit ies ha ve been

p a id to do this. Now Phill ips says th ey are t o be bribed t o

fa vou r t h os e w h o h a v e n o fa m ily wit h u n ive r si t y ba ck-

grounds and wh o come from poorly-a tt en din g sch ools.

Because so m a n y u n ive r si t y a dm in is t r a t ion s h a ve g on e

a lon g with t he ideology-mongerin g, becau se too man y vice-

ch a n cell or s d i d n o t re s is t t h e e a r li er b la n d i s h m e n t s , t h e

defences of tra dit iona l int ellectu al e xcellen ce ar e gr ave ly

weakened . And we a re un ne cessa rily defle cte d fr om th e

ser ious task of sor t ing out u nivers ity finances .

T h e s e l li n g o f c a p i t a l a s s e t s t o e st a b l i s h un i v e r si t y

e n d o w m e n t s 62

Scarc ity is perpet u a l a n d acu te sh orta ge m a y be expected to

O’K E E F F E A N D MA RS L AN D 55

63 Fer guson , ‘Drea min g Spire s an d Speed ing Modem s’, in Tooley,

Buckin gham at 25 , 2001, p. 18 4.

64 Th e Fu tu re of H igh er E du cati on , p. 9.

r em ain wit h u s for yea r s. S om e u n ive r si t ies a r e r ich a n d

ot h e r s a re poor . Some could crea te huge funds t o supp o rt

th eir var ious en dea vour s. Oth ers ha ve ba rely en ough

com m a n d over r esou rces to r em ain in t h e over a ll b la ck.

G ov er n m e n t s could s ell some of t h eir own en or m ou s

holdin gs; but w hy sh ould higher ed ucation expect a p re-

em pt ive cu t fr om t h e s e? T h e r e a r e riva l cl ai m an t s . F or

m a n y of t h e u n ive r si ti es in t h is cou n t r y t h e tr u t h is t h ey

a r e fa r fr om w ea lt h y e it h er in income or proper ty te rms.

Given how wealth y the coun try its el f i s now, thoughts a re

bou n d t o tu rn to t h e qu es ti on of p h ila n th rop y.

T h e need for a n ew p hi la nth rop ic t r ad i t ion of c h a r i -

t a b l e e n d o w m e n t s

N i al l F e r g u s on d ou b t s w h et h e r B r i t a in c ou l d ev er i m it a t e

su ccessfully t h e very weal thy phi lan thr opis t s of Am er ica n

t r a d i t ion an d pra ctice.63 It is t ru e th at in ou r t w en t ie t h -

ce n t u r y history of higher educat ion we Brit ish const ru cted

a symbiosi s be tween soc ia l i s t ha t red of capi ta l ism an d

conser vat ive con tempt for bus inessmen. In such an a tmos-

p h e r e recourse to t h e p u bli c pu r se wa s a n obvi ou s ou t com e.

B u t t r a d it ion s ca n fa d e a n d be di sm a n t le d ju s t a s t h e y ca n

es tabl i sh them selves. I t may be claimed a g a ins t P rofessor

F e r gu s on ’s p e ss im i s m t h a t t h is cou n t r y is in fac t deep ly

com m i t t e d to p h ila n t h r opy a n d t h a t , giv en it s e n or m ou s

w e a lt h t od a y, a n im i t at ion of th e Am er ican tr ad ition could

be ini t iated. We will not kn ow till we t ry. At a ny r at e t h e r e

seems to be a hope in governm ent circles tha t we m igh t get

t h i n gs moving philanth ropical ly, to judge by the Wh it e

P a p e r .64

Uni vers i t i e s a s pr iva te com pa nies

T on y Dickson points out th at u niversit ies could be floated

a s pu bli c com pa n ies wit h eq u it y a va ila ble to p u bli c a n d

p r i va t e purcha sers . I f t he equity rout e were followed then

INDEP ENDE NCE OR S TAGNATION?56

65 Dickson, ‘UK un iversities an d the s tat e’, 2001, p. 27.

66 Guardian , 21 May 2002, p. 8.

fina n ci a l in t er m ediaries w ou l d h a v e to p r e pa r e a p rospectu s

of t h e p h ys ica l a n d intellectua l asset s of a given in st it u t ion .

T h e ini t i al public offering would deter min e the s ha re

price.65 U n i vers ities followin g th is pr ocedu re would be a ble

t o choose wher e t o a l ig n t h em s e lv es on t h e s p ect r u m

bet ween total freedom an d subm ission to governm ent

impera t ives .

I t ca n n ot be st r es se d t oo m u ch t h a t t h e a t t e m p t s t o

ra t ional i se via coercion m ust be deterr ing th e less success-

fu l inst i tut ions. T h is is so ine ra dica ble a fea tu re of socialism

t h a t we ough t t o call it a ‘law ’ of socialism . It a lwa ys

pen ali ses t he poorer groups. Th e resea rch as sessm ent

exercise, for exam ple, car ried out ever y five year s, is

mar ked , as we no ted e a r li er , by i n a de qu a t e re wa r d s for t h e

m i dd le -r a n k in g un iver sit ies wh ose r esea rch out pu t is

im pr oving. The fun ding is going to th e top places to safe-

gu a r d h igh es t qu a lit y r es ea r ch .66

T h is is th e h ypocrit ical pa ra dox of th e Wh i te P a pe r , t h a t

it happi ly exa l t s t h e fine B r it i sh con t r ibu t ion to t h e crea t ion

a n d re pr odu ction of kn owle dge , w it h ou t suf ficien t ly st ress -

ing the academic é li t i sm on wh ich t h is success is in evit ab ly

based , an éli t ism w h ich e ls e wh e r e it neve r ce a s e s t o a t t a ck ,

a n d then , without pa usin g to take br eath , concentra tes

r e s ea r ch funding on ‘wor ld c lass ’ ins t i tu t ions . The weakes t

univers i t ies , however, mus t su rely be even more d is cou r -

aged t h a n t h e m i dd le -a ch i ev er s , by t he ir low r an kin g,

however mu ch they st ru ggle. We r e p ea t th at t he wea ker

u n iversities s h ou l d seek link s with t h e str onger via e xt e r n al

examin er n et w or k s an d eve n b y act ua l exte rn al e xam ina -

t ion s set for th e lower by th e h ighe r in st itu tion , with

grad ua ted con t r ib u t ion s fr om t h e for m e r a s i n di vi du a l

d e p a r t m e n t s ma ke t he ne cessa ry g ra de. T h e e xt e r n al

degrees s et a t on e tim e for lower s ta tu s ins t i tu t ions by t h e

U n i ve r s it y o f London were not a badge of int ell ect u a l

m ediocrit y b u t a n obvious sour ce of academ ic int egrit y. Th e

process of bet ter ins t i tu t ions en g a gi n g i n th e in t e ll ect u a l

O’K E E F F E A N D MA RS L AN D 57

67 Tooley, ‘Editoria l: The futur e of higher educat ion in the UK’, 2001,

p. 3.

68 Dickson , ‘UK u niver sitie s an d th e st at e’, 2001, p. 24 .

69 Dickson , ‘UK u niver sitie s an d th e st at e’, 2001, p. 25 .

cer t ifica t ion of lesser ones would be a r a t ion a l procedu re , in

w h ich intellectual a nd economic efficiency were th e sa m e

t h in g .

I n te r n a t i on a l t r e n d s

Bri t i sh u n ive r si t y p r ovis ion wil l h a ve t o tak e a c cou n t i n

fu t u r e o f the in te rna t iona l t r ends in u n ive r si t y p r ovis ion .

T h e r e ar e m an y un ivers ities now t ha t a re lin kin g up

i n te r n ation ally. T h e e m er g en ce of privat e, for-profit u n i ve r -

sit ies in som e cou n t r ies is ch a r a cte r i s e d by exp an sion via

f ranchise .67 We ha ve touched on t h is a lr e a dy a n d i t i s n ow

su re ly an option we m ight consider in t he UK. We app rec-

i a t e t h a t t h e s it u a t ion of r oyal cha rt ers ma y req uir e lega l

ch a n g e in t h is r eg a r d. It wou ld sur ely be pr ofit a ble for

Br itis h un iversities t o t e a ch in con ju n cti on with in s t it u t ion s

in poorer coun tries. I t would creat e revenu e for th em selve s

a n d em pl oym e n t an d learn ing possibili t ies in th e poorer

count r ies , a n at ur al p rocess of co-oper at ive compa ra tive

adva nt age. In s om e insta nces ha rd-pressed Bri t ish s t u de n ts

migh t even con s id er d oi n g t h e ir u n iv er s it y s t u di es in s u ch

count r ies .

Ton y Dick son s a y s t h a t t h e s e a r ch for l ow e r u n it cos t s

h a s been delibera te policy for 40 yea r s . 68 W e r ep e a t t h a t a

m ore r at iona l econom ic ap pr oach in th e n ea r fu tu re would

be to a llow free m ar ket policies t o d eci de t h e d iffe r en t

pr icing of d e gr ees in di fferent u nivers i t ies . Let us a l low th e

ma rket for h igh er ed u ca t ion to s et t le t h e va r iou s pr ices of

higher edu cat ion ’s d i fferent ia ted products . Dickson a lso

sa ys t h a t t h e a p p a r a t u s of a u d it a n d in s p ect ion h a s r en -

dered the s ystem r isk-averse—‘th e most int ru sive and

expens ive au dit rég im e of an y high er edu cat ion s yst em in

t h e world’.69 All t h is is witness t o a n e du ca t ion a l nomenklat-

u r a too p er ver se a n d b lin d or fri gh t en ed to h ave q u ick

recourse to mar ket so lu t ions .

INDEP ENDE NCE OR S TAGNATION?58

70 Andr ew J . Coulson , Market Ed ucation: the Unk nown H istory,

Tran saction Pu blishers, 1999.

71 E.G. We st, Education and the State, IEA, 1970.

Let u s ab an don fa l se p a t tern s o f edu ca t ion

Dick son sa ys the wor ld pa t te rn of educat ion i s for the s ta te

t o bu ild u p p rim ar y edu cat ion, cau tiou sly follow th is wit h

a n expan sion of secon d a r y edu cat ion a nd th en , an d on ly

t h e n , to v en t u r e in t o h igh er ed u ca t ion . Gov er n m en t s s oon

find t h is too expens ive , however , and wor ld-wide there i s a

r e s or t t o p r iva t i sa t ion . This descr ip t ion of the Br i t i sh

e xp er ie n ce m a y perfectly relate t o a twent ieth-centur y

e m u l a t or y tr en d, bu t n ever in ou r view one d riven by an y

in t r in s i c logic. T h e w or ld h a s le a r n ed lot s of good les son s

from the West ; in th is in st a n ce cle a r ly it h a s i n som e

insta nces l ea r n e d bad ones an d often h ad t o unlear n th em.

T h e s t a t e i n t r usion is wrong, unn ecessary, inefficient a nd

tends to be corr up tin g at all leve ls . As Coulson ha s a rgued ,

p r i va t e edu cat ion is h is t or ica lly t h e n or m for a ll s u cces sfu l

l ea r n in g expe r imen t s in a l l t h e e r a s of r ecorded h is tor y .70 As

E.G. Wes t used to a rgue , the ear l ies t a t tempt a t ma ss

ed u ca t ion wa s t h e s u cces sfu l p r iva t e a n d s pon t a n eou s on e

t h a t occu r red as par t of the phenomenon of indus t r ia l i s -

a t i on its elf, in G r ea t B r it a in .71 I t s ‘m a s s ’ ch a r a ct e r wa s n ot

s u ch because it w a s planned, but because m illi on s of p r iv a te

ind ividu als decided to sell k n owledge and sk i l l s in r e sp on se

t o mill ions m ore wishing to buy th em. I t ca n be seen as a

dec is ion by ‘society’ only through the m ost brazen an d

re i fi ed pos t-h ocery .

Educa t ion in t h e Br it is h n in e t ee n t h cen t u r y w a s a d va n c-

ing pari passu wit h m oder nit y its elf, s h a r i n g i t s v ol u n t a r y

ch a r a c t er , it s l oca lis ed pa t t er n s of p r odu cti on . The n ine-

t e e n t h centu r y m ora l pa nick er s, or d o-gooder s, a nd th eir

s u bs eq u en t follow e r s in t h r a ll in t h e twen t ie th a n d n ow t h e

twenty- fi r s t cen t u r ie s t o t h e m ill en n ia -old be lie f t h a t t h ey

k n ow better t h a n t h e marke t , h a v e over t h e last 13 decades ,

by enscon ci n g a s oci a li st a t a vi sm i n th e h ea r t of l ea r n in g

a n d cu l t u r e, subvert ed t h e evol u t ion of spon ta neous marke t

a n d oth er pr ivat e ed uca tion al a ctivit ies . Th e y h a ve com -

O’K E E F F E A N D MA RS L AN D 59

pound ed t h e offe n ce b y p r e a ch i n g t o t h e r e s t of t h e w or l d

t h e e r r on e ou s i m p er a t ives of s ta te pr ocur emen t an d

pr ovis ion . E v er y wh ere now, h owever, t h e coloss a l cost of t h e

t e r t ia r y va r iet y is ca u s in g t h e project t o com e u n stuck , fi r s t

a t t h e u n ivers i ty level and subsequen t ly a t the secondary

and pr imary levels .

W h a t we see, a n y wa y in t h is coun t ry , un der t h e p res s u r es

of scar city, is a gra du al, r e lu ct a n t a n d r e se n t fu l capi tu la t ion

to ma rket imperat ives. This is n ot t h e wisest spir it in w h ich

to respond to an d oversee a delayed deve lopmen t , b u t on e is

for ce d t o a d m i t t h a t it i s b et t e r la t e t h a n n e ve r .

We mu st d i spe l the c l im at e o f fear

T h e contr ol of ignoble a ct ivit ies like mu rder , rape a nd

larceny calls for p rim al fe a r an d r e le n t le s s p u n i s h m e n t .

E d u c a t ion , by cont ra st , is a noble act ivity. Wh at we n eed is

t o dissipat e the climat e of fe a r a n d i rr it a t ion of t h e pr e se n t

by b r ea k i ng u p t h e r égim e of au dit a n d r egu la ti on, a n d

pl a cin g t h e bu r de n of re form on th e on e t h in g t h a t ca n

shoulder i t: t h e fr e e m a r k e t. O n ly th e m a r k et h a s t h e

a ggr ega t ed su bt let y of m illi on s of m i n ds , a n d t h e p ow e r t o

gene ra t e consensus, w h ich t h e m on u m e n t a l task of moder n -

ising our un iversit ies will requir e.

T h e t h o r n y ques t ion of a n t i n o m i a n s u b j e c t -m a t t e r i n

hig her ed uca t ion

Cons erva tive a d m in is t r a t i on s h a v e oft e n b ee n t e m p t ed t o

move a ga in s t t h os e w h o t ea ch m a n ife s t ly a n ti n om i a n

m a t e r ia l . Only ra rely is it in t h e p ow e r of g ov er n m e n t s t o

a ct dir ectly against t h e t e a ch i n g of offen sive subject-matt er .

O n e su ch opp or t u n it y wa s t a ke n by a Con serva tive govern -

m e n t , w h e n in t h e 1 98 0 s i t cu t o u t ‘t h e or y’ cou r se s fr om

teacher e d u ca t ion . T h e ou t com e wa s t h a t th e offe n di n g

courses were cut, but th e them es in q ue st ion m er ely

migra ted to the meth ods courses , th eir th eory b as e h avin g

been r em oved . It is tr uly d ifficult in a fre e society t o move

against a n t i n om i a n s u bje ct -m a t t e r when it h a s t h e support

of a la r ge n um b er of a ca d em ics a nd o ther in teres t groups .

INDEP ENDE NCE OR S TAGNATION?60

72 Th e com mon coun te rcla im th at in Am er ica s ome of th e m ost

politically corre ct un iversit ies ar e priva te is t ru e. But th ere is priva te

an d priva te. E ven t he m ost pr estigiou s pr ivate un iversit ies re ceive

vast contributions from the public purse in America. And as Frum

sugges ts, it is un likely th at th e stu dy of Foucau lt a nd h is ilk could

survive without t he propping up it r eceives from th e taxpayer . See

Fru m, ‘It’s Big Governm ent St upid’, 1994. For the genera l argum ent

see O’Keeffe, Poli tica l Cor rect nes s an d P ub lic F in an ce, 1999.

M a n y of t h e b ig na m es from n eo-Marxism in th e 1970s and

1980s n ow h a v e ch a i r s . We cou ld su pp ly these na mes ea sily

e n ou g h . W h a t is t h e poin t , t h ou g h ? They w e r e a l lowed to do

w h a t th ey chose. Why in a free socie ty should they not? In

a free s ociety one is a llowed t o be in th e wr ong in te lle ctu -

ally . E ven u n de r pr iva t e fin a n ce w e w ou ld st ill fin d F ou -

ca u l t a n d h is like bein g st ud ied. Th e differe nce is th at it is

less offensive when p r iva t e funds a r e involved. Moreover , it

is fair ly ce r t ai n t h a t un der pr iva t e fi n a n ce t h e a n t in om i a n s

would far e less well. 72

T h e r e a r e f a i r l y s i m p l e a d m i n i s t r a t i v e c h a n g e s t ha t

c o u l d h e l p

R efor m i n g govern men ts could, even so, i n it ia t e a n u mber of

an cillar y policies t ha t could help, thr ough a m ixture ofin t ell ect u a l a r g u m e n t a n d a r m - tw is t in g , t o t ou g h e n t h e

in t ell ect u a l e n vi r on m e n t for s tuden t s i n t h e p r e -u n i ve r s it ys tages . In pr im a r y a n d s econ da r y ed u ca t ion t h e p r e se n t

fa vou r given to whole-class teaching a nd t he di s r e p u t e t o

w h ich t h e ch i ld -ce n t r ed fa n t a s y h a s n ow fallen should be

empha sised fur ther . We could a lso r e in t r od u ce ‘O’ level a n d

gen uin e ‘A’ leve l GC E , wi th ou t r e pe a t s a n d m od u la r

s t ruc tur es . We do not find the endless repeti t ion of stories

of th e in t ell ect u a l s u pe r ior it y t o be fou n d i n th e s ch ool s of

con t in e n t a l E u r ope es pe cia lly con vin cin g. W e d o a t th e

s a m e t i m e a d m i r e th e in ter na tion al b acca lau re at e. Th is

s h ou l d be in trodu ced wide ly a s a n alt ern at ive a n d a s a spu r

t o ‘A’ lev els . Le t r ein t r odu cti on s a n d i n n ova t ion s a ll com -

p e t e on even terms with th e exis t ing arr angemen ts . Thesu per ior modes will in a few years out perform th e weaker

ones .

We no te t h a t t h e r e m a y h a v e to be a degree of s t r on g-a r m

O’K E E F F E A N D MA RS L AN D 61

im pos it ion h er e. W h a t is n ee de d a s a n a r t icu la t e policy i s a

d e li be r a t e a t t em p t t o m a ke t h e i n t el le ct u a l li fe of t h e

weaker u n ivers ities mor e aca dem ic. They sh ould n ot h ave

t o sp en d m u ch of th eir ti m e com pe n sa t in g for th e p oor

p r im a r y an d se conda ry s chooling th eir s tu den ts ha ve

re ceive d.

F i n a n c i a l an d t axa t ion p o l i c i e s shou ld be d ove ta i l ed

t o e n c ou r a g e h igh er s ta nd ar ds a nd mor e recour se t o

p r i v a t e in s t it u t i on s

We r e p ea t o u r su p p or t for t h e e n cou r a g e m e n t of p r i va t e

edu cat ion by la r ge redu ctions in in come t ax an d propert y

taxes a cr os s th e boa r d a n d g en e r ou s t a x a l lowa n ces forthose wis h in g t o pu r ch a se pr iva t e e du ca t ion or to endow

p r i va t e educat ion. We should encour age em u l a t ion of t h e

U n i ve r s it y of W a r wi ck ’s fi n e t r a ck r e cor d of i n cr e a si n g

fina ncia l indepen dence. We s h ou l d en coura ge t h e est a bl ish -

m e n t , esp ecially fr om t he Un ited St at es, of mor e for-pr ofit

universi t ies . We also need to e n cou r a ge t h e furth er de vel op-m e n t of b a n k in g a n d i n su r a nce service s likely to a i d p r iv a te

h igh er ed u cat ion on i ts wa y.

We r e pe a t t h a t t h e better un iversities could e a r n r e ve n ue

by is su ing extern al degrees of a rut hlessly super visedstanda r d to st ud en ts of ancillar y inst i tut ions, s u ch a s ot h er

univers i t ies , inclu din g for-profit or conven tion al p riva teone s.

We cou l d e n cou ra g e p r iva t e sch ools t o r e n t th eir premises

ou t as cent res for evening degree course s a n d v a ca t i on

degree course s t o privat e un iversit ies, for profit or other -wise. Br i t i sh univers i t ies should d ivers i fy the i r hold ings ,

open ing un iversity colleges on a privat e en t e r pris e ba sis in

p os t -commun is t Eu rop e a nd cert ain oth er low in com e

societies with high aca dem ic poten tia l. The se m ight , we

r e p ea t , a l low less well - off Briti sh citizen s t o get t he ir

Brit ish degrees elsewher e.Br i t i sh u n i ve r s it i es s h ou l d offe r w or k t o t h e ir s t u de n t

bodies in p ar tia l set tlem en t of fees. We sh ould e ncour age

m o r e Ameri ca n a n d ot h e r for e ig n u n iv er s it ie s t o s et u p

INDEP ENDE NCE OR S TAGNATION?62

73 Fer guson in Tooley, Buckin gham at 25 , 2001, pp. 185-88.

74 Hills, ‘Who Owns th e Univer sities?’ 2001, pp. 15-16.

75 Peacock, ‘How necessar y are u niversities?’, 2001, p. 10.

76 David Ha lper n, ‘Who shou ld pa y for HE ?’ in Tooley, Buckingham at

25, 2001, p. 266.

77 Th e Fu tu re of H igh er E du cati on , p. 30.

78 Ha lper n, ‘Who shou ld pa y for HE ?’ in Tooley, Buckin gham at 25 ,

2001, p. 267.

her e. Num bers of wr i te rs , Nia ll Ferguson ,73 S ir G r a h a m

Hills 74 a n d S ir Al a n P ea cock 75 exp r es s s om e h ope s for

i n te r n et higher e du ca t ion . We are n ot ne cessa rily convert ed

to t h is v iew ; bu t l et th e m a rk et de cide .

Resea rch an d o t her t hor ny i s su es

Da vid H a lp er n opi n es th a t s t a t e-fu n de d r es ea r ch ca np e r fectly ad equ at ely be disciplined by ‘r e s ea r ch coun cils a n d

t h e like’.76 T h is is v er y dou bt ful. In socia l scien ce, a n d in th ehu ma nities in p ar ticu lar , res ea rch coun cils ha ve been p a r t

of th e pr oblem, n ot th e solut ion. Th ey did n ot h in g in t h e

pas t to con t a in t h e Marxist a ffl a tu s a n d re ce n t ly h a ve don e

n ot h in g to stem t h e fr an t i c com m i t m en t to t h e an ti-civi l isat -

ion a l fl ood t h a t h a s p ou r e d i n to ou r u n i ve r s it i es fr om

Fr an ce. I t w ou l d h a ve be en b e tt e r h a d th ey n ot exis te d. Atleast t h e m on e y for th em w ou l d h a v e been saved. T h is is n ot

to s a y t h a t govern men ts ca n n ot imp rove things. Th e govern -

m e n t ’s pr opos ed gr a de 6* ca te gor y for u n ivers ities doing ‘

world -class res ear ch’ ma y possibly help ,77 t h ou g h we repea t

t h a t we do n o t l ik e t h e ov er a l l r e s ea r ch a s s es s m e n t ex er -

cise, sin ce in t he l on g r u n p r iv a t e com p e t it i on i s fa r b e t t ertha n re l iance on governm ent ca tegor ies .

In rela tion to t he qu est ion t ha t t er rif ies low- a n d middle-

r a n k in g u nivers i t ies more than t he i r research s ta tu s ,

na mely t h e vicious a nd ina ccura te m onit orin g of the irt e a ch i n g t h a t n o w t a k e s p la ce , H a l p er n i s r i gh t t o s a y t h a t

sys t ema t i c s ou n d in g of t h e students ’ opi n ion s w ou l d be m ore

u s efu l to a sses sm en t t ha n t he ‘clum sy bu r e a u cr a t i c’ i n t er -

ven t ion s of occasional out siders. 78 T h is view is endorsed by

O’K E E F F E A N D MA RS L AN D 63

79 Th e Fu tu re of H igh er E du cati on , p. 47.

t h e n e w W h it e P a p er .79

A furth er s h a ft of econom ic light will pene t r a t e un iver sit y

pr oceedings wh en , on t op of si gn ifica n t in ject ion s of p r iv a te

funds , a l l academic sta f f face the in t roduc t ion o f loca l pa y

b a r ga i n in g a n d p er for m a n ce-relat ed pay, a long delayed

a n d n e ce s sa r y reform . We r ep ea t, h owev er , th a t t h e syst emis no t l ike ly to see the fu l l benefi t s of p r iv a te fu n d in g for

s om e y ea r s y et .

S o m e c o n cl u d i n g t h o u g h t s

T h e n o t ion s t h a t t h e s t a t e m u s t s ig n ifi ca n t ly fun d higher

e du ca t ion , engage in de t a ile d r egu la t ion of in st it u t ion s of

lear n i n g a n d g en er a lly b e p r oa cti ve i n th e n a t ion ’s intellec-

t u a l life , a ll fl y in t h e face of econ om ic logi c a n d h is t or ica l

experience. Such ac t ivi t ies a re th e s h a d ow y r e s id u e of t h e

soci alis t aspir ations t ha t wrea ked su ch ha voc, sometimes

m ur der ous ly so , in the twen t ie th centur y. The socialist

edu cat ion of the free societies is not th e sinister phen ome-

n on we find in the s ocialism of w h ol e societ ies . B u t in t er m s

of ru th less an d d ish ones t r en t-see kin g, of ideologica l

p e r ve r s it y a n d ob s cu r a n t i s m , a n d of ob d u r a t e a n d u n c or -

rected er ror for decades on end, t h e r e a r e m a n y overw he lm -

ing s imi lar i t ies . Br it ish h i gher educat ion i s by far th e most

p r om i si n g pla ce to begin th e cour se of ne cessa ry e conomic

a n d int ellectu al corr ection . It w ill ta ke p olitical le ad er sh ip

prepa red to d is t a n ce its elf from t he spin a n d show-busines s

du plicity of r e ce n t gov er n m e n ts t o set t h e ch a n g es proper ly

in m ot ion .

64

Glossa ry of Ter m s

A Afflat us creative inspiration, often of an exulting kind.

Ant inomian dis lik ing or d ist ru st ing law an d t ra dit ion.

C Calibra t e mea sur e pre cisely.

D Dysfunct iona l having adverse effects contrary to intentions and

agreed purposes.

E Educra t edu cat ion al fat -cat or s en ior bu re au cra t.

I In te llect ion int elle ctu al a ctiv ity or ce re br at ion.

M Malfunct iona l failing to achieve specified goals and agreed

standar ds.

Ma rk et isa tion pr ocess wh er eby g oods a nd ser vices pr eviou sly n ot

produced and sold under mar ket conditions are

increasingly so produced and sold.

N Nexus lin k(s ) or con ne cti on s(s ).

Nomenk la tu ra originally meant the ‘listed’, ‘named’ persons

en t i t led to be members of the é l it es in European

Communist countries; by extension any corru pt and

ideologically closed élite.

R Reified wrongly treat ed as possessing real, concrete

existence; attributed mistakenly with a thingness.

By d efin it ion th is m ost ly r efer s t o ide as th at cri ti cs

ta ke t o be misu sed or fa lse or a t lea st pr oblema tic

but en dowed with misleading solidity, ideas like

‘dem ocracy’, ‘society’, ‘progr ess’ etc. It is n ot us ua lly

implied that t here are no proper uses of these words.

Relativism the doctrine that there a re no universal sta ndards

of knowledge and value.

S Schumpete r ian in the t radition of the great centra l European

economist Joseph Alois Schumpet er.

Sta sis sta te of ter min al pa ra lysis, decay or incapa city.