The Marketisation of English universities could make them catalysts of the second wave

Last month Simon Marginson, professor of higher education at Oxford, eviscerated government policy on higher education in England, showing the connection between marketisation, overpromising, student responsibility and likely consequences.

Throughout the pandemic, the implications of this relentlessly anti-social logic have been made clear: If students enrol face to face at a time when the risk of on-site attendance is high enough to mean that some catch Covid-19 and die, they have themselves to blame. If one institution attempts to secure a market advantage by opening before it should, and thereby forces other institutions to do so, then its freedom to do so must be respected. If institutions go bankrupt because it is impossible to sustain themselves it is their fault, and this can be celebrated as a healthy cleansing by market forces. It is not far from celebrating death itself as a healthy cleansing and in a global pandemic that is too close to the bone.

The mix is a perfect storm.

Universities are motivated to over-recruit and over-promise. If they follow government guidance their legal liability for illness, death, cancellation, etc., should be limited.

The Telegraph reports comments by Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, head of the WHO, on the risks of young people letting down their guard catching and spreading coronavirus, something more likely to happen with high concentrations at universities.

Speaking at a virtual press conference in Geneva, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said there is evidence to suggest that this resurgence has been driven by young people enjoying the summer.

Missing in this story is the recognition that universities are also places of work, with many academics, administrative and other support staff, much older and more vulnerable than students.

Modelling by researchers in the USA found that for a small (by UK standards) university, testing students for coronavirus every two days would be necessary to control outbreaks.

UK universities seem unlikely to put in place, for staff and students, the rigorous testing, and subsequent closures and isolation, required to control outbreaks.

It is clear that online education is less effective than study that includes the traditional classroom. However, the weaknesses are understood and, with an honest conversation between universities, students and their parents, and with appropriate support from the government, UK universities can deliver a valuable education bundle.

That new bundle can reflect our changed circumstances. It will have more study and expertise building, and will be heavier on the ‘educational experience’ and lighter on the ‘student experience’. It will be more bookish, at least for the next year, but that is what is needed.

Doubling down on building analytical and communications skills is a rational response to the current crisis. Only the most skilled will get employment. Only education can fight the misinformation and sloppy decision-making that has seen too many countries (including the UK) have sub-optimal responses to the current crisis.

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