"The Enlightenment in Reverse"

[anteros_lmc]

I try to keep tedious things like real life, work and politics off LJ but this comment was too good not to share. "The Enlightenment in Reverse" is the best description I have yet heard of the systematic decimation of the higher education system in the UK.

In response to the challenges faced by the sector (heavy handed management and administration, lack of academic freedom, the tyranny of the RAE / REF, lack of job security, rampant demoralization, lack of investment and a huge hole in the funding structure) a new coalition, the Council for the Defence of British Universities has been established to advance university education for the public benefit and defend academic values. The list of founding members is impressive, and although I remain skeptical as to whether the CDBU can really make a difference, at least they are making their voices heard.

Of course it's always the academic and student support services that are the first to go, followed by the arts and humanities, and my current institution is no different from any other in its enthusiasm to implement these misguided policies. Amongst the droves of dedicated and committed staff who have already left was the university chaplain. I never met her, but apparently she was hugely respected and highly regarded by students and staff alike. When she left, her public parting shot to the senior management was: "The university is the university, and the church is the church, and neither of them are businesses." Amen to that.

Right, I'll get off my soap box now. Normal Navyboy Appreciation Services will resume shortly.

Further info:
Council for the Defence of British Universities
Coalition of thinkers vow to fight marketisation of universities from the Guardian
Fidei defensore from Times Higher Education.

Comments

[eglantine-br.livejournal.com]

You guys don't seem to have as much of the cult of wholesome ignorance. Some people over here seem to have3 the idea that too much learning is bad for a person-- particularly a female person. Show-offy, unnatural. This problem is especially prevalent in the south and middle of the country. (But is is not limited to those parts.)

So many people are looking for someone to tell them what to think.

When money runs short all the good ideas seem to get thrown away first. I am sorry that this is happening to your group.

I am sorry you have to deal with it.

[kittycallum.livejournal.com]

But logically, if ignorance is bliss, and the pursuit of happiness is in the constitution, it's an individual's right to be ignorant! ;) (I'm pretty fed up with those attitudes too.)

[anteros-lmc.livejournal.com]

So many people are looking for someone to tell them what to think.
Yes. That's exactly what it is. The senior managers are telling the academics what to think and they also expect them to tell the students what to think. Meanwhile all they're really interested in is the bottom line.

I lived and worked through the Thatcher years but I have never seen the entire higher education sector so directionless and demoralised as it is now.

We've done well to survive as long as we have but the axe is swinging in our direction now.

[kittycallum.livejournal.com]

Can we call it the Endarkenment then? (Seriously though, unis here are having similar problems. My honours advisor keeps the class updated on new university policies that she thinks are absurd, and it's a growing list. Part of the class is just about 'how to stay focused and motivated in the face of ridiculous administrative requirements.')

The university is the university, and the church is the church, and neither of them are businesses.
YES. It's so good to know there are people who remember that.

Actually I volunteered at the Social Anthropology booth at the university's Open House a few weeks ago, and the main question we got was 'what job can I get with this?' I know the economy is bad and it's important to be able to pay off student loans, but it was quite disheartening to see that that is the first priority. Universities aren't businesses and they aren't job training centres either, even though the skills you learn do have practical applications. I'm not at school to learn to be in a certain job, I'm here to learn about interesting ideas and ways of seeing the world.
There was an article in the Gazette a while back by a student decrying the Quebec protests -- and claiming that it was all the work of entitled liberal arts students who deserve high tuition. Because they're never going to contribute to the economy, clearly. (Someone else got to the opinions page with a reply before me, so I contented myself with drawing little devil horns on the photo of the author in my copy.)

(Sorry, slightly disjointed rant. This is a subject close to my heart.)

[anteros-lmc.livejournal.com]

Endarkenment, yes I'm afraid we probably can call it that.

Your honours advisor is to be applauded. I'm research rather than teaching staff so I don't really come into contact with the students but I have a nasty feeling that the lecturing staff are not communicating to them just how under threat the institutions really are. Staying focused and motivated is a real challenge.

YES. It's so good to know there are people who remember that.
Definitely. Though sadly most of the people who remember that are leaving.

Universities aren't businesses and they aren't job training centres either, even though the skills you learn do have practical applications.
*APPLAUSE* I couldn't agree more.

Thank you for sharing your rant. Greatly appreciated :)

[aletheiafelinea.livejournal.com]

The university is the university, and the church is the church, and neither of them are businesses.
Well said, and not only in Britain should be repeated... and at the same time my cynical cerebral hemisphere is snorting at me, "and what were you thinking? come on, course they are!"

[anteros-lmc.livejournal.com]

Yeah, you're absolutely right. That's the problem, we can't ignore the business oriented aspects of these institutions but it's all about striking the right balance