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STUDENTS: This message is not to benefit you. It is about the marketisation of higher education and it will hurt you. https://twitter.com/michelledonelan/status/1350159981790830594
Education is a public good and should be viewed as such ( #abolishfees). Through that lens, the University response in which millions of hours and pounds have been redirected to adapt to Covid should not be viewed as a weaker "product" as implied here but instead a public service.
Just as the NHS has transformed to adapt to Covid, so have education providers at every level - a public service delivered during a national crisis. Let's celebrate it.
Of course, many of your individual experiences have suffered. Compromises have been made. We all regret that.
Of course, many of your individual experiences have suffered. Compromises have been made. We all regret that.
And we have to support you in addressing that.
But if we accept the narrative of tuition rebates, we accept the market view of education. And just like Universities will be left to fight it out, so will you.
But if we accept the narrative of tuition rebates, we accept the market view of education. And just like Universities will be left to fight it out, so will you.
Instead of society collectively supporting you for what you have lost, you will be left to your own. Instead of govt, future teachers & employers recognising what you've been through & assuming a social responsibility to adapt, YOU will be judged for purchasing a weaker product.
This is why the ongoing drive towards a capitalist and competitive higher education will hurt students the most. Because in that model customers compete just like providers do. The goal of educating society should be a shared and collaborative endeavour not a competitive one.
PS Maybe the ship has sailed on all of this in the UK. Maybe that battle has been lost. But I am not ready to give up yet.
PPS Students, do not stop complaining and fighting for your rights! But aim those complaints well!
PPS Students, do not stop complaining and fighting for your rights! But aim those complaints well!
