THE radical plans in England to supposedly “ rebrand a host of small private education providers as universities” must be viewed as positive action in developing the sector to meet the social equality expectations we demand of educational opportunities in the 21st century (“Universities fight to defend status,” The Herald, October 26).
It was hardly a surprise to me when I read the protectionist view of Universities Scotland, who appear to consider this proposal as a potential threat to their “ proven and sustainable integrity”, notably in regards to their “ degree-awarding power”, while continuing to monopolise the elitist title of “university”.
I suggest that the current structure of post-school education is socially divisive.
It is well known that universities evolved historically from the days of medieval clergy teachings.
Doubtless, many realised that if they could lock up God in their own buildings and claim ownership, then why not do the same for higher education?
If Scotland’s tertiary education was to be designed today from scratch, I am certain that no one would even deign to consider our bifurcated system.
Nevertheless, due to an historical accident of circumstance, we seem permanently saddled with an unfit and antiquated framework.
One part of the sector comprises virtually autonomous establishments while our further education colleges largely follow a national structure of courses, assessments and accreditation.
Any bold evolutionary change which might help us move forward from this vocational versus academic schism has to be pursued in Scotland.
Bill Brown, 46 Breadie Drive, Milngavie.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel