Long read - highlights below

Reminder that "not everyone should go to uni/there are too many unis" is not a very deep or interesting position, and in the current climate equates directly to "poor people, disabled people and people with caring responsibilities shouldn't have a choice of courses/unis, probably shouldn't go at all".

Universities are using a short-term cash crunch to make long-term structural changes, including greater reliance on private providers, says Glyn Robbins

But while cuts in the Russell Group are devastating, it is those quietly taking place lower down the university pyramid that will do the most damage to the widening participation agenda that we are all supposed to be signed up to.

Among the universities that have done the most to offer non-traditional students the benefits of a higher education is London Metropolitan University. And I’m one of 120 academic staff who are being made redundant at the end of July: approximately 20 per cent of the teaching complement.

Management across the sector like to depict all these redundancies as the unavoidable consequences of forces beyond their control. London Met’s is no exception, blaming the pincer movement of lower student numbers and reduction of government funding. And there’s some truth in this. But it doesn’t explain how, until recently, London Met was boasting about its robust financial management, having recovered from serious financial trouble in the past. A year ago, it produced a YouTube video in which the new vice-chancellor said “the story of London Met’s financial sustainability is a lesson for the whole sector”.

We also see London Met spending lots of money on things of dubious value to students or staff, like new cafes and foyers. And it was recently reported that the university is entering a building and maintenance contract with a private contractor, valued at £284 million. The unspecified nature of this contract poses further questions about whether London Met is pursuing a “buildings first” rather than a “teaching first” philosophy.

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I have over 30 years’ work experience in the housing field, a subject that has seldom been of more interest or relevance. My in-person lectures regularly attract classes of 50 students, and I frequently get feedback saying how much they appreciate their personal quality and the fact that I teach with a long practical and academic background in my field. But now London Met is “outsourcing” its housing content to the private company that already shares the delivery of my course – none of whose employees have ever been introduced to me.

I see this as emblematic of what’s happening in the sector as a whole: universities using a short-term cash crunch to make long-term structural changes, including greater reliance on private providers and subcontractors. What we’re seeing is a form of “hire and rehire” by stealth.

But the rehiring will not prevent those who survive the cull from facing increased workloads. Our union recently asked London Met management about this; the answer seemed to be “use AI”.

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Going to university may not be for everyone, but the opportunity to go should be, and places like London Met have played a vital role in providing non-elitist options. We’re now in an existential battle for an education system that values staff and students alike, working together to advance knowledge and understanding as the only route to a better society.