Labour is in denial about our bad universities

Our universities are in a mess. Too many degrees lack intellectual quality and utility, and leave those doing them with little but disappointment and debt. Nor is the debt limited to students. Foreign student numbers, on which many institutions rely, are drastically down, and it is an open secret that three big names (Cardiff, York, and Goldsmiths) and at least three less prestigious institutions (notably Lincoln, Kingston, and Middlesex) are making cuts or haemorrhaging money.

We clearly need to think radically, both about the purpose of university education and how many institutions a government with limited funds should support. Unfortunately the government intends nothing of the sort, and has instead opted for a comfortable life.

At last week’s annual conference in Reading of Universities UK, the trade body for academic top brass, science minister Peter Kyle airily denied that that there might be too many universities.