Universities value their autonomy. Academic freedom, freedom of speech, freedom of research and freedom to make decisions are all important. So, is it a threat that the Office for National Statistics (ONS) is looking at the status of UK national accounts? ONS recently reviewed English colleges and reclassified them to the public sector. This has had lots of implications for the colleges that I work for.
In recent months, I’ve heard lawyers, vice chancellors and journalists suggest there’s a risk for universities.
To quote Lord Willetts, it could be a case of ‘universities next’, ‘growing the public sector by stealth’ and the Department for Education looking forward, ‘with relish’, to introducing extra controls’.
There are many things that universities can worry about but, having thought long and hard about the subject, I think ‘nationalisation by stealth via the ONS’ is well down the list of risks.
