The Westminster government’s crackdown on “poor quality” courses is not “anti-university”, England’s higher education minister has insisted, while ruling out introducing limits on the overall number of students.
Michelle Donelan offered an olive branch to nervous university leaders after “boots-on-the-ground” inspections were announced at eight higher education providers but claimed that even a small number of substandard courses could damage confidence in the sector as a whole and put off students from applying.
“It is not anti-university to identify the pockets of poor quality and drive improvement. It is not anti-NHS to observe where a hospital needs improvement, nor is it anti-education when Ofsted finds a school inadequate. The secret of world-class public services really is built upon a combination of autonomy and accountability,” Ms Donelan told the Higher Education Policy Institute’s conference.
