Unis care more about research than they do about us, says top minister

Universities are ignoring us to spend more time on research, according to a top MP. 

The Minister for Universities, Jo Johnson, reckons teaching is suffering because some academics care more about their research.

Speaking at the Universities UK annual conference, he criticised lecturers arguments as: “I don’t want to have to set and mark much by way of essays and assignments which would be a distraction from my research.

“And you don’t want to do coursework that would distract you from partying.

“So we’ll award you the degree as the hoped-for job ticket in return for compliance with minimal academic requirements and due receipt of fees.

“This is not a contract I want taxpayers to underwrite.”

If Universities Minister Jo looks familiar, that’s because he’s Boris Johnson’s brother

Boris’ Brother added: “Because many universities see their reputation, their standing in prestigious international league tables and their marginal funding as being principally determined by scholarly output, teaching has regrettably been allowed to become something of a poor cousin to research in parts of our system.

“This patchiness in the student experience within and between institutions cannot continue.

“There is extraordinary teaching that deserves greater recognition. And there is lamentable teaching that must be driven out of our system.

“It damages the reputation of UK higher education and I am determined to address it.”

Jo’s comments have unsurprisingly angered a lot of academics

But the Minister of Universities angered academics from all over the country with his comments – especially when he said teaching was being ignored due to the increased focus on research.

Many academics, however, did not agree with Johnson’s statement, and they were pretty vocal about it over Twitter.

Some were so furious about it that they were driven to using incorrect capitalization to make their point.

Jo says he is not willing to accept the current state of affairs, using his speech at the Universities UK annual conference to “set out a broader vision for higher education”.

He said the increased tuition fees meant that standards of education should be increased as well, to make sure students get value for money.

According to Jo, this can be achieved through “great teaching, combined with rigorous assessment, useful feedback and preparation for the world of work.”

Unis need to give better value for money because of the higher fees, according to Jo

He also called for greater transparency from universities over how they’re spending the tuition fees.

The speech also contained plans to drive forward competition within higher education, with the hope that this will increase students’ freedom to choose their futures.

Johnson said: “We want a diverse, competitive system that can offer different types of higher education so that students can choose freely between a wide range of providers.”