By Joe Rukin
People and Planet have launched a new stop GATS website following the deadline for Anti-GATS submissions to the DTI. The site is meant to provide everything you need to mount a campaign on your campus with tips on 'How to get your Vice-Chancellors to oppose GATS' and model motions for Students' Unions. To get there, Click Here. P&P say the DTI has received a flood of responses from charities, unions and pressure groups, with each one, in its own way, saying the same thing - GATS must be stopped.
There will be a European meeting of GATS activists and demonstration in
Brussels on February 8-9th, with plans for a European Counter-Summit this September in Bonn being discussed. Anyone wanting more information should get hold of Ole Erdmann of Education is not for sale!
It may just have been sabre-rattling to try and make sure that the government chooses to implement top-up fees, but Surrey University has announced its intentions to abandon state funding and go completely private. It hopes to become the first British university to declare independence from the Government by establishing an American-style endowment and relying on its own income. Patrick Dowling, the Vice-Chancellor said;
"It could reach the stage where we feel strongly enough (to become independent). I would like to be able to keep our options open. It is not easy going private overnight. But if we were given a major sum or endowment we would be one of the first ones to say: Let's have a go."
ON the last set of funding figures, less than a quarter of Surreys income came from central government (£29m from £116m), with the rest coming from academic fees, support grants, research contracts and income from ten subsidiary companies. So that it can 'break free' from reliance on the state, surrey reckons they need an endowment of £750 million to allow them to break free from state funding completely.
"It is not something that would happen overnight but we have been working towards this for some time. We are looking at becoming less dependent on the whims of government policy and making our future go the way we want it to."
The threat of college strikes still looms this month as pay talks between lecturers unions, NATFHE, the ATL, UNISON and management representatives at the association of Colleges ended last week without resoltion. All the parties will be back at the negotiating table next week. Barry Lovejoy, head of NATFHE's colleges department said:
'We are inching towards resolution of this year's pay dispute. We believe that
all parties want to reach a settlement when we meet again next week. Given the 12 per cent pay gap between lecturers and schoolteachers, NATFHE is looking for a 'catch-up' element to help close the gap this year."
The three main unions in further education colleges will join forces for a national strike on 30th January if negotiations with college employers, which have already gone past their original 13th January deadline.
On the 1st May 2001, we reported that Oxford University Student, Nadeem Ahmed, had lost his case of racial discrimination against the University. In December he won permission to take his case to the Court of Appeal in London. Nadeem and a second Asian student were told that they had failed University exams in Medieval philosophy at the University's Oriental studies department. It turned out that the Exams were actually unlawful and contrary to University Statutes. Dr. Zimmerman, a German tutor in the department was the sole examiner. A white student was told she had passed and was later awarded a University degree, despite no background knowledge of the subject.
A three year study by the Commission for Black Staff in Further Education says institutional racism is preventing black lecturers from reaching senior positions in further education colleges and threatening to undermine the educational achievements of ethnic minority students. Ethnic minority staff were found to be better educated than their white colleagues but less likely to hold prestigious posts, the report, 'Challenging Racism: further education leading the way', said.
"The data suggests that although the numbers of black students are rising, many colleges remain mainly white organisations - their leadership and management are predominantly or exclusively from a white European background. This raises questions about the experiences of black students in predominantly white-led organisations and the possible effects of this on retention and achievement."
The Scottish Rugby Union have got rid of all of Scotland Students' matches this season. The Students had been due to play Wales, England & France, but SRU director of rugby Jim Telfer says they just can't afford the team. He said:
"We have to keep all elements of our budget under careful review and, with the arrival of our third professional team and the intensity of competition the pro-teams have faced this season, we have decided that, at this juncture, we do not require the Students' matches as part of our development portfolio."
The Guardian, in association with the Institute of Education, is holding a debate in London on January 27 on the blueprint for higher education. Charles Clarke and other key players will debate one of the most difficult problems New Labour has faced. For more details see www.educationguardian.co.uk. To reserve your free tickets call 020 7612 6258.
BBC, Threat of more college strikes
Guardian, Keele lecturers threaten to strike over staff cuts
Independent, Racism 'stops black staff getting top college jobs'
Surrey University gets ready to leave state sector
Scrum, Scotland ditch student fixtures
Leeds today, Threat of strikes in college pay row
