UNISON has today (Friday) criticised new government proposals for higher education in England for failing to tackle key issues including funding, student access and increased social mobility.
Students face being burdened with even more debt under the long-awaited plans published today by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, says UNISON.
UNISON General Secretary Dave Prentis said: “The Green Paper proposes giving the Secretary of State powers to increase tuition fees further, saddling poorer students with even more debt, and doing nothing to increase social mobility.
“The government says it wants to encourage disadvantaged students to go to university, but this aim sits uneasily with ministers’ decision to scrap university maintenance grants for lower income students in England and Wales.
“Rapid expansion of the private sector is likely to lead to more financial scandals and the misuse of taxpayers’ money. There is a greater need for transparency in the sector as unfortunately the profit motive tempts too many private companies into thinking that they can make huge profits at the expense of students and taxpayers.
“Freedom of Information requests have been used effectively by unions like UNISON to uncover poor financial management, and the huge gap between the pay of senior staff and more junior employees paid below the living wage.
“Exempting universities from the Freedom of Information Act would will make universities and colleges less transparent, allowing cover ups and dodgy practices to continue away from the public gaze.”