UCU wrote to Secretary of State for Education Nadhim Zahawi urging him to act now to stop a 'dangerous assault' on arts and humanities provision.
In a letter from UCU general secretary Jo Grady, sent on the first day of UCU's annual Congress, the union urged Mr Zahawi to reverse the Office for Students 50% cuts to funding for arts and creative subjects and to stop attacking so-called 'low value' courses. The union also slammed plans to restrict access to courses that do not meet arbitrary graduate outcomes data.
The letter comes in response to announced job cuts and course closures at De Montfort University, the University of Roehampton and the University of Wolverhampton. These include 226 academics facing the sack at Roehampton and a cull of 146 courses at Wolverhampton across the areas of performing arts, fashion, social sciences, interior design and fine art.
