Some UK universities are not equipping students with useful skills but indoctrinating them with “a diet of critical race theory, anti-British history, and sociological Marxism,” a minister has said.
Andrea Jenkyns, minister for skills, further, and higher education, criticised the current education system, which she said would rather have young people get a degree in “Harry Potter studies” than work in construction.
The government is committed to clamping down on low-quality university courses, she told a fringe event at the Conservative Party conference on Oct. 3.
Jenkyns said: “A skilled modern economy competing on the global stage requires technical skills just as much as it needs graduates. Yet the current system would rather our young people get a degree in Harry Potter studies than the apprentices shaping construction.
“It doesn’t take magic powers to work out that this is wrong, which is why the government is committed to putting the broomstick to good use and carrying out a spring clean of low-quality courses.”
The minister insisted “if a course isn’t providing someone with a positive outcome,” it makes “no sense” the government should be funding it.
She added: “I’m determined to make sure that the skills we give our young people are fit for the future, in some cases they simply aren’t getting this at universities.
Discrimination Against ‘Advantaged’ Pupils
British universities have also been criticised for their admissions practices, which allegedly discriminate against pupils from wealthier families.According to statistics released by the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service, in 2022, for the first time on record, 18-year-olds from the most affluent backgrounds were the only group to see a decline in numbers securing university places.
Iain Mansfield, head of education at the conservative Policy Exchange think tank, told another fringe event at the Tory conference that the university system is “pushing” discrimination against children who went to private schools or who are categorised as “advantaged” because of the postcode where they live.
He was quoted by The Telegraph as saying, “Discrimination on the basis of class or background or the aspirational decisions that a parent makes for a child is as abhorrent as discrimination on the basis of race or sex.”
The apparent preferential treatment for students from disadvantaged areas has been criticised as “social engineering.”
“They are trying to cover up the failure of the school system which should be getting people up to the right level to get into university,” Chris McGovern, the chairman of the Campaign for Real Education, told The Telegraph in August.
