Leave our Universities Alone.

At their best, British universities drive innovation, push scientific and human discovery forward, forge rounded  graduates and generally make the world a better place.

They do not do this by conforming to an identikit model, doing the same as their neighbours. Rather each has its own flavour, its own personality, its own strengths. 

In a plural democracy, the clash of intellectual ideas, the race to land new scientific discoveries to discover better medicines, and develop better ideas is fundamental to higher education institutions.

To thrive, local difference must be lauded, not stifled. 

However, in a move that is likely to hobble healthy individualism,  the Office for National Statistics (ONS) is considering designating our universities as ‘public bodies’.

This prosaic nomenclature may sound dull and trivial. Yet, if they become public bodies it will mean they cannot raise loans in the private sector and all loans will be on the government’s books. 

Their borrowing – which universities currently secure at their own risk to spend as they wish, to boost their unique offers to students, researchers, the UK and the world, will be controlled by government.

This is because university debt will be piled onto the debt owed by the government. Inevitably, this will mean the government will want to approve each debt, which logically means approving the project on which the loan will be spent. 

In a briefing to MPs, Universities UK sums it up thus: “The reclassification of universities as public bodies would remove their autonomy over borrowing and investment decisions, handing responsibility to the Department for Education (DfE) and the Treasury. 

“Universities would therefore be unable to access commercial lending and be subject to increasing direct controls from government on a whole host of other areas, greatly impacting their institutional autonomy.”

How Keele, Kent or Kingston borrow money – and spend it – is not a matter for a civil servant in Whitehall.