Putting about some stick
Over breakfast this morning I learnt many things about what happened in the 2010 election and, even more significantly, why.
There was a lot to digest, facts and figures and trends that add up to a pretty happy outlook for Labour in Wales, a huge challenge for the Conservatives, much head scratching for Plaid and better news for the Liberal Democrats than I think for one moment will eventually be delivered when we next go to the polls.
For now I'll pick out just one set of statistics.
1500 people in Wales were asked, in the days after the General Election, how they thought things had been going since 2005. Did they think things had got better or worse as far as the NHS, education, law and order and their standard of living were concerned? The picture, in general, is this.
Most thought the NHS had improved. And guess what? Most put that down to the Assembly government, not the UK government. Satisfied smiles in Assembly government corridors.
What about education? Not such a glowing picture. Around a quarter thought it had got better but just a few less thought it had got worse and just over a quarter had seen no change at all. Again just over a quarter didn't know - a far higher proportion than in any of the other policy areas studied.
But get this. Of those who thought it had got better, the credit went to the Assembly government. Those who thought it had got worse were more likely to blame the UK government. Wryly satisfied we-got-away-with-it smiles in Assembly government corridors?
No. At least not on the Education Minister's face.
Leighton Andrews has been threatening for some time, to - as I put it back in March - put a bit of stick about:
"See also Leighton Andrews, rewarded with the plum job of education and in the words of Francis Urquhart, not afraid to put a bit of stick about. He's started a few things. Let's see where they are in two, or three hundred days' time".
Last night he took that stick and waved it in the faces of leading figures in the Welsh Higher Education sector. In fact as I came back from London last night my Blackberry - yes, yes, they've relented and given me my very own "hand-held device" - started bleeping frantically with evidence of some serious stick-waving.
By the end of the evening in Cardiff University I imagine some of those in the audience - administrators and head honchos in particular - had almost felt the air move as the stick came slashing down right in front of their noses. They may even have been tempted to hold out their hands, palms upwards.
Here's just some of what he had to say:
"I will be blunt and I will be candid. In the first six months I have been in this post, I have begun to wonder whether the Higher Education sector in Wales actually wants the Assembly Government to have a higher education strategy, or whether it even believes that there is such a thing as a Welsh higher education sector ..."
"Indeed, I am not clear - eleven years after the National Assembly was created, and thirteen years after our historic referendum vote - that the higher education sector in Wales welcomes devolution or democratic accountability at all. Since our education agenda in Wales is based on the principle of democratisation, that is problematic."
On he went.
"We have had more higher education institutions per head in Wales than any other part of the UK but have failed to break free from the bottom end of the UK growth and prosperity table. Our HE institutions are small compared with those just over the border. For all the achievements of higher education institutions, they have had only a very limited transformative impact on our economy, and on our global presence and reputation · We are not having a high enough impact in terms of the quality and quantity of our research · For too many in Wales, higher education remains a distant, and irrelevant activity, clouded in mystery.
So change is afoot.
"If we are to make the changes needed; we also have to be willing to question what may not be needed. We do not want governing bodies that act simply as a bunch of cheer-leaders for university management.
"I was interested to learn recently that some members of university governing bodies have been appointed on the basis of a phone call. Who you know not what you know. It appears that HE governance in post devolution Wales has become the last resting place of the crachach".
How did the audience take it, I asked? Some mouths gaped. Some fought back. Others pointed out that one man's democratisation is another man's eternal "bog standard" service. What about excellence? Doesn't that mean shutting doors, as well as opening them?
As I said back in March, Leighton Andrews has "started a few things" - and this debate is another that in Welsh terms, is just starting.
But a clue, on page 54 of his speech, for those who wonder where the Education Minister is coming from.
"Academics are grasping the nettle. It is time for university administrations to follow them. It might perhaps be timely to remind that audience of how we came to have a university sector in Wales in the first place.
It was a determined political act, resulting from the campaigning of a political movement".
Make no mistake. This Education Minister has every intention of repeating history. His take on the sector is, says last night's speech, is to be a determinedly political one.
I'm Betsan Powys, BBC Wales' political editor. I'll be blogging the inside track on 
~RS~q~RS~~RS~z~RS~45~RS~)
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Bout ruddy time for a bit of direction. Welsh uni's are doing what they want at the moment and wasting time competing. Students get OK degrees as teaching provision is good but research is scatty and is driven only by a few individual excellent departments.
Up in the North we have a brilliant institution in Glyndwr University (had a fantastic management team 2 years ago wile NEWI, don't know them now) which while brilliant at engaging with the community is lacking in research and finesse, while Bangor is trying to become a little Oxford by Snowdonia at the expense of the City and surrounding area, and is managed abysmally.
I know HEFCW is looking to 'regionalise' provision and if it works it will mean no duplication and maximal efficiency and impact of resources, talent and research to drive learning. It goes against my instincts for government to have such a large role but to me, in the first instance, there is a role for WAG to co-ordinate (through HEFCW) the HE sector as a national effort, it seems the most logical way to ensure we have the best chance of competing the the HE market in the UK first and then globally if luck/competence falls our way.
Tie this in with the FE sector, using research to give innovative market leading skills to our workforce, providing progressive learning to enhance progressive careers.
A caveat, this needs to be tied in with those co-ordinating economic development, as if we don't get the correctly skilled and knowledged people to fuel this, there is no point to in doing anything.
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Looking on as a taxpayer and someone who doesn't suffer fools gladly I really have to take Leighton Andrews to task over his comments on Welsh Universities and their failure to raise the welsh economy.
Excuse me, but isn't that the job of the overly-expensive Welsh Assembly Government? In any case there are two questions that need to be asked:
1) Have standards in schools really risen?
2) Once Welsh students have graduated are they staying in Wales?
From my perspective the answer to both questions is NO with far too many school-leavers possessing the basic skills to equip them for work along with the fact that the failing Welsh economy cannot provide enough employment prospects for those capable of gaining a Degree.
BOTH of these are failures on the part of the Assembly, not Universities! Failure to address these issues is that which will keep Wales in poverty and not anything the Universities can or will do.
Mr Andrews...people in glass houses SHOULD NOT throw stones...
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Universities should NOT be a devolved area. Welsh Universities are part of the UK
system and are not a service purely to Wales: Welsh students attend English universities and vice-versa. This is a good thing.
I presume the harping on about ``governance'' is code for Leighton Andrews
wanting to exert more power over the autonomous Universities....
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Way, way before any student in or from Wales can go into HE they need to have completed their primary and secondary education. To reach HE at an institution that will provide academic study that is worth what they will have to pay, they need A levels and/or Welsh bac. The traditional route for A levels is sixth forms, a role schools provide really well. Why then does WAG insist on demeaning the role of school sixth forms in the provision of these academic requirements? Could it be that 6th forms in schools are seen as a hangover from Grammar schools? FE colleges pick up some study areas essentially for the less academically able to continue their study but the real role of the FE college is as a technical college, as that is their founding role. The Welsh Minister for Education, Leighton Andrews has commissioned a report from PWC into why the Education funds distributed by his department do not reach the 'front line'. If he acts on the report and continues to ask questions about standards in Education as currently delivered in Wales, he may come to the conclusion that the 'Education providers' namely LEA, Unitary Authority bodies and whomsoever is the 'provider' of the FE and HE sector in Wales have served their useful purpose and consider the Academy offer, grant monies directly to schools and colleges, who are the actual Education providers, to deliver the Education and then consequently dismantle the current cumbersome and outdated system. This will put the sums withheld for admin and 'other costs' back in his department for him to distribute back to the front line. Too radical? It is going to happen in England by setting up of Academies. Wales can either be up there at the top or continue to languish as the evidence that the minister has called for and mentioned shows.
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As a Plaid supporter I just want to say, nay shout out loud: 'Well done Leighton - da iawn ti!'.
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Leighton Andrews has ordered an independent review of Higher Education Governance in response to a peoples petition for greater public accountability and consultation in nigher education in Wales.
That is good news
What he has omitted but will become blatantly obvious in the review is the appalling way in which universities treat their students for which the Office of the Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education (OIA) fails to address because they refuse to make any inquiry. They like the old Visitor still refer to quotes rather than consider the evidence.
He has failed to address the fact that regulation is carried out by the Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) a registered charity has no statutory powers so its warnings are simply ignored and cannot be ignored.
On whistle blowing the QAA has a Cause for Concern scheme that does not meet minimum standards set out by the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998 and does not offer legal protection for complaining students.
Its refusal to consider the suicide risk to students failings would see social workers sacked.
The Higher Education Funding Council HEFCW is so inept at financial regulation that the task of regulator will be undertaken by the Charity Commission and not HEFCW. English universities will be regulated by the English equivalent HEFCE!
The University of Wales refuses to have any complaints procedures despite students having the right to do so under the Higher Education Act 2004.
The Failure of the QAA and HEFCW will mean that benefit to the disadvantaged together with pastoral and financial regulation will in future be carried out by the Charity Commission under the Charity Act 2006.
Will he include the unaccountable role and conduct of the Church in Wales and respective Bishops that need close scrutiny!
Will he allow public complaints and reintroduce the power of the Auditor General to take over a failing university.
Will he force HEFCW to produce public documents to the public before rather than after decisions are made.
Will he put an end to the old boy network with regard to public appointments.
Will he force universities to stop making life difficult for mature students and single parents in particular who it seems have forgotten their place.
Wales has the potential to be world class so as far as Welsh higher education policy is concerned, will Leighton Andrews he drag us out of the 13th Century?
or
Will he leave Nick Clegg and the UK Parliament to do the job for him!
Thursday, 20 May 2010
Rt Hon Nick Clegg - Lord President of the Council
Cc: The Secretary of Wales Rt Hon Cheryl Gillan
Dear Lord President,
I refer you your comments reported in the media concerning reform and your invitation for public feedback.
My personal situation arose because I complained about the treatment of disadvantaged students; details are included in the objections that I have sent to Mr Berry concerning the University of Wales Lampeter. I fully appreciate that you may not be able to comment while these matters are under consideration. However, I draw your attention to these objections, as you will probably need to make future decisions based upon their contents.
Unfortunately, any student expressing dissent that challenges discrimination against the disadvantaged, failure of compliance with procedures, maladministration, and standards in public life, can expect to be victimised to the point of costing them their career and only massive debts to show for an act of public service. Moreover, I am reliably informed from other campaigners that this is common practice in many universities.
While it is easy to identify legislation that overtly impinges on our freedoms, what has gone unnoticed is covert deregulation by leaving out references to our rights of challenge and inquiry when legislation is repealed. For instance, the Public Audit (Wales) Act 2004 repealed the Local Government Act 2000 and omitted the power of the Auditor General for Wales to intervene and take over the running of a higher education institution (HEI) on the grounds of financial mismanagement. This is an example of our rights being eroded by stealth.
Then there is fatally flawed legislation such as the Higher Education Act 2004 that introduced the Office of the Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education, known as the OIA. What was omitted was a duty on the OIA to make inquiries into failures of procedures and compliance with the information and discrimination laws. While there is the Office of the Information Commissioner and the Equality and Human Rights Commission many complaints are deliberately delayed so they are out of time for the ICO or EHRC to take appropriate action. When the Act was passed, the government said there was no evidence for any further measures being necessary, that is because students are humiliated, made to feel worthless, and subjected to gagging orders.
The public has been given that illusion that universities are subjected to the same vigorous regulation as other educational establishments such as schools. The university regulator the Quality Assurance Agency (QAA), which advises governments, is a registered charity with no statutory duties and exempt from the information laws. They are only accountable to Vice Chancellors associations and respective English or Welsh Higher Education Funding Councils who have a memorandum of understanding to provide value for money with no public scrutiny via respective National Audit Offices. The only contribution the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales (HEFCW) has made regarding its statutory duties and uphold Standards in Public Life is to subject me to David Kelly style character assignation to discredit my complaints and conceal their failure to act. While I have received an apology, it does not compensate me for the loss of being able to resolve these issues and the apparent influence on the QAA to ignore my complaints.
Moreover, the autonomy of higher education institutions means they any issue of concerns about finance, management, or failure of procedures by the QAA can be, and are, ignored. The QAA has a Cause for Concern procedure open to students but from experience it is so restricting it falls short of acceptable standards and the requirements of the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998. Like many procedures, it is for display purposes only and any student using it is going to be very disappointed.
The QAA has a five-stage complaints procedure but from my experience stage one was ignored, stage two by the director of reviews entailed writing to ask some very silly questions, and as he failed to provide a reply within fifty days, it has progressed to the Chief Executive who has not bothered to send any acknowledgement. Complaints are being ignored placing vulnerable students at risk to preserve public reputations.
The only good news is that due to my lobbying I have persuaded the Charity Commission to act as regulator for Welsh universities under the Charity Act 2006. They take up their duties in June 2010 where upon I will make formal complaints about the University of Wales, the University of Wales Lampeter, Trinity University College, and the QAA. If upheld not only will these institutions risk losing their charitable status, in the case of the QAA, which is a more vulnerable Schedule 1 Charity it could leave England and Wales without a university regulator.
I have a Peoples Petition on Public Accountability and Consultation in Higher Education before the Petitions Committee of the Welsh Assembly that is still waiting for a reply from the Education Minister to a letter I sent in December 2009. I am of the opinion that a reply is being withheld for political reasons and to conceal the failure of Ministers to address these issues and of Assembly Members to challenge the executive.
Lastly, there is the Privy Council itself, the Senior Clerk Mr Berry has quite rightly advised me that the Privy Council cannot make any inquiries into my objections to giving approval for the University of Wales Lampeter, to change its Articles of Government for to do so would be unlawful. I suggest that the law is changed to allow the Council to refer objections to a Committee or better still a University Commission for further inquiry so that it can make fully informed decisions based upon independent advice.
I would be very happy to present evidence in support of these issues to an appropriate Commons Committee for further inquiry. I suggest this is only a small part of a major problem in that certain sections of society claim ‘nothing works’ and proposals for reform to succeed they must address the much needed role back of the power of state institutions, quango’s such as higher education funding councils, and autonomous public spending bodies. The old adage about power tends to corrupt has produce an unaccountable elite that flouts the rules and the law with impunity creating a disconnection between government and the people.
This would bring justice to students and address their vulnerability concerning tuition fees which leaves them open to exploitation, abuses of power, and sexual predation for which there is no effective means of redress. It would also address the mindset that discriminates against the disadvantaged, and give real power and responsibility to individuals and their communities. Moreover, we can encourage disaffected sections of society to use the political process to express their dissent as our universities are educating young people into the belief that playing it by the rules is a total waste of time. Anger and resentment against the establishment is displaced and expressed against more vulnerable targets and could lead to students being radicalised.
The senior clerk to the Privy Council that Nick Clegg has received this letter and i await a reply.
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#7 "As a Plaid supporter I just want to say, nay shout out loud: 'Well done Leighton - da iawn ti!'."
While I am pleased with your comment "Well done Leighton" and i do not doubt it is genuine but all of my Plaid AM's have ignored requests for help on this issue! Therefore i find their claim to be 'on your side' somewhat disingenuous.
Having said that i have nothing against Plaid in particular as all of my representatives from all the main parties have ignored my requests for help, which does make the actions by Leighton Andrews somewhat remarkable.
While he has not gone far enough we should be grateful for a big first step and encourage him to do more.
In particular he should introduce a Welsh Students Complaints Scheme, abolish the regulator the QAA and bring regulation under the Welsh regulator for schools ESTYN and bring the unaccountable funding Quango HEFCW under public control.
Its nothing to do with more powers to the Assembly but everything to do with power to communities and individuals on the issues that affect our lives.
Which is something we should all support irrespective of any other consideration.
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Wales has an excessively large higher education sector stuffed to the spires with second- and third-rate English tutors and students. This explains why our universities a) recoil from intercourse with the host country and b) are incapable of creating wealth and / or employment for the denizens of the aforementioned host country.
This can be traced back to 1960s when the national resurgence Wales experienced led our London masters to embark on a policy of expanding - i.e. anglicising - the University of Wales lest it become a bastion of Welsh nationalism. As few English academics or students of genuine ability were prepared to come to Wales this resulted in growth equalling falling standards.
Throw in a few empire-builders and we inevitably ended up with a sector that became something of a fee-gathering business. Lower the entrance requirements, force host communities to accept unreasonably large numbers of students, and churn out every summer a few thousand 2:2 graduates who immediately go home to England. This is 'Welsh' higher education.
Ironically, the ones to blame for this national insult are Gwynfor Evans and Cayo Evans, John Jenkins and Dafydd Iwan.
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#11 Gwyrangon wrote:
'..denizens..'
I like it!!
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Betsan, could you enquire of Leighton Andrews our Education Minister what plans are in the pipeline to legislate in Wales to enable parents and other groups to set up "free schools", as fellow UK citizens will be able to do East of Offa's Dyke.
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#11 "the national resurgence Wales experienced led our London masters to embark on a policy of expanding - i.e. anglicising - the University of Wales lest it become a bastion of Welsh nationalism."
A good point but the strategy has failed!
Some Welsh Universities have become a hotbed of nationalism and as such i was reliably warned do not expect the nationalists to help with any complaint against a university as they spread the language and culture.
The problem is that to preserve their reputation they conceal the appalling situation that you describe, but with the passage of time the situation has become worse.
From my experience the perpetrators were English and those who concealed the corruption were Welsh! They collaborate to eliminated any student that complains from the University and worse.
Welsh universities have become a sanctuary for those who have no place in any form of public service least of all the education of others.
The solution is to empower communities and individuals to hold these public funded bodies to account and apply the same criteria for schools with more options concerning being taught in the medium of Welsh.
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Re #13
"Free schools"?? What you mean schools 'free' from the WAG, 'free' from being demanded to be rebranded as Ysgol something or other and 'free' to opt out of compulsory Welsh lessons! LOL! You'll be lucky! That form of social engineering is here to stay in the Anglicised areas of Wales I'm afraid
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# 15. You bet. So get over it.
Let's agitate about the lousy state of education not moan about the fact that it acknowledges it is taking place in Wales.
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Re 15
The Welsh-speaking Welsh have been part of a social-engineering process for centuries, comeoffit. Welcome to our world, eh?!
I, actually, rather love your language - its literature and poetry. You, because of your bigotry, clearly hate mine - without really knowing anything about it.
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"The Welsh-speaking Welsh have been part of a social-engineering process for centuries, comeoffit. Welcome to our world, eh?! "
I apologise for that Fodafydd but it was not the fault of your fellow English speaking Welsh folk. However it does not justify the self-righteous approach of Welsh nationalists.... you should know that two wrongs do not make a right!
The difference between 'your world' and 'my world' is that believe it or not I support 'your world' and am happy for it to be propped up with my taxes despite the fact that if it were left to natural selection and the actions/desire of the majority of the public it would have ceased to exist long ago. Variety is the spice of life and long may it continue... of course I support you and 'your world' as you put it.
However 'my world' in South Wales which I was born into consisted of being part of Britain where the schools were named in English because that is the language that we spoke. You and your kind seem to want to oppresively seperate me from the country I was born into and relentlessly tamper and change the names of out institutions into something that is unrecognisable and not understandable to populution at large. You would happily change what I know as reality for something historical that your nationalist chums told you about which probably never existed in the first place. That FoDafydd, is Social engineering.
It would seem that thanks to the obsessions of the nationalists in the WAG, 'your world' (probably to the detriment of things such as health care and education) is no longer under threat. Mine on the other hand is!
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Re: "In the first six months I have been in this post, I have begun to wonder whether the Higher Education sector in Wales actually wants the Assembly Government to have a higher education strategy"
Part of the problem has been the amoral attitude of your predecessors who had the attitude that universities are autonomous so as long as they can get away with corruption that's OK then.
According to them you have no authority to say and do what you have just said and done!
Re: "For all the achievements of higher education institutions, they have had only a very limited transformative impact on our economy, and on our global presence and reputation"
Higher education has become so deregulated that even experts on governance have advised that the only way to bring maladministration to light is to publicise it in the media.
You are then subject to a barrage of threats of legal action, claims for damages, and high court injunctions paid for by our money to keep us quiet.
The people who read it most on the internet are the Chinese, I suppose it gives them some comfort for the the way in which they treat their own students.
Its proof that our universities are having an enormous impact; but its not the one we want!
I look forward to taking the lid off all of this when I give evidence to the independent review.
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#15 "Free schools" as defined by the Conservative - Liberal Democrat coalition is free from the local education authority, so by definition it should be free from government interference, the problem that exists in Wales relates to WAG which supports mediocrity, they call it a level playing field.
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In the first half of next year we have Elections for the Assembly, and a Referendum on devolving more powers.
While Leighton Andrews speech clearly reveals he recognises some of the problems, this was a Political Showboating exercise.
Highly unlikely there will be real changes.
Welsh Universities play an important role in the Nationalist project.
Worth reminding ourselves that many posting on these pages have been pointing out the problems in Welsh Higher Education for years.
There will be more to come, - for the next few months the Assembly will be busy projecting a workmanlike sensible image, little controversy much populism.
Winning the Referendum and the Assembly Elections are, at the moment, more important than the real agenda.
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Re 20 et al
You sometimes get the impression that if a right wing Westminster government proposed that we eat dust for breakfast, that some of our regular posters would be on here salivating at this latest brilliant idea...
And if they could put honest hard-working public servants with families to support on the dole at the same time - then better still.
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Re 18
comeoffit,
"'your world'........is no longer under threat."
If you really believe that, then, I'm sorry, you are showing unbelievable ignorance of how things really are. Can you give me just one example of when you were not allowed to speak English in Wales? Can you give me one example of when you were unable to get a service in English in Wales?
Also, do you really believe that my taxes (and all other Welsh-speaking tax payers' taxes) do not contribute to 'your world' (as you insist on calling it!)?
I like to see Wales as an holistic whole, where we all contribute and where we all participate. In European terms we Welsh and our linguistic variety are a pretty mainstream nation, and far more intersting for it.
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Re 23
I take it by comeoffit's not unexpected silence, that he has no examples.
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Re 23 & 24
Our world is 'under threat'. As a careers adviser I can give you many hundreds of examples of talented candidates restricted from hundreds of tax payer funded jobs because of the ubiquitous 'Welsh Desirable' tag on most public sector jobs.
Do the maths - this linguistic apartheid excludes 80% of Welsh people from even applying for posts which they pay for.
Please don't insult me by claiming that 'Welsh Essential' and 'Welsh Desirable' are different requirements, to the applicant they mean the same thing.
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How soon before Rhodri Morgan or some other Assembly politician says ... the damage to our society in Wales through policies of positive linguistic discrimination is far greater than any measured benefit.
Have politicians begun to realise that they can only fool all the people for some of the time, and a very short some of the time at that.
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