The helter skelter expansion of UK higher education ushered in 21 years ago by Tony Blair’s pledge to send half of school leavers to university is now at an end. Additionally, any amount of a student's fees still outstanding after 25 years will be cancelled. Blair’s transformational legacy in social policy has been eclipsed in contemporary consideration by the war in Iraq, and all that has occurred there since 2003. However, widespread protests led the Labour Party to make a manifesto pledge at the 2001 general election not to introduce such a system. University funding is a devolved matter for Northern Ireland and Scotland. Video, Indian couple get married in full PPE clothing, Why a US photographer says 'sorry for the war' Video, Why a US photographer says 'sorry for the war', The birds on the balcony that found TikTok fame. introducing free-market principles into education in order to make schools more competitive and give parents more choice Tony Blair fought his first election campaign - to become leader of the Labour party - with education high on the agenda. Although the government tried to create a compromise that would raise the necessary funds in a fair way, the issue remained highly contentious. This is because the policy was not included in the Labour party manifesto in 2001 – and some would argue it went against the line reading "We will not introduce top-up fees and have legislated to prevent them". Both the New Right and New Labour governments endorsed this view, which Gordon Brown justified in the following terms : ‘We cannot run a first-rate economy on the basis of a second rate education system’2, echoing Tony Blair’s claim that ‘education is the best economic policy we have’3. The Tony Blair government (1997–2007) The struggle for control of Labour. This is not, however, so relevant today as the vast majority of universities opt to charge the maximum £3,290 (2010 Entry). The symbolic target of 50% at university reached - BBC News Education Policy. And according to a 2017 report for Universities UK, once you count the (mostly borrowed) money students spend on subsistence, tertiary education generates some £95 billion for the British economy, more than the … Over half of UK young people now attend university, meaning the target first set by Tony Blair 20 years ago has finally been reached. 2) Order 2004, The Higher Education Act 2004 (Commencement No. In addition, some backbenchers were promised further concessions and changes to the Bill, and therefore voted in favour at the second reading. Changing the education system is "one of the most difficult things" for a government, said former UK prime minister Tony Blair. Until 1998, all education in the United Kingdom was free up to and including university courses. By Sean CoughlanBBC News family and education correspondent. Some[who?] Although not the intention of the legislation, there is likely to be a perceived trade-off between price and quality when choosing a degree. If their salary falls below £15000, no payments will be taken. "It is simply not good enough that white working class boys are far less likely to go to university and black students are far less likely to complete their courses than others," said Mr Williamson in a letter sent to Universities UK. During its years out of power, the Labour Party had undergone a gradual transformation as it attempted to distance itself from the power of the unions on the one hand and the power of the membership on the other, in the guise of the traditional role of the Labour Party Conference. 1 and Transitional Provision) (Wales) Order 2004, The Higher Education Act 2004 (Commencement No. However, all this journalistic outpouring misses the point, for me, personally. "Today I set a target of 50% of young adults going into higher education in the next century," Mr Blair told Labour Party delegates. Details of the proposed changes to funding, Learn how and when to remove these template messages, Learn how and when to remove this template message, Director of Fair Access to Higher Education, The Higher Education Act 2004 (Commencement No. Blair's government to higher education Ingrid Lunt* University of Oxford, UK Although the famous Blair mantra 'education, education, education' was applied by his government mainly to the compulsory education sector, there was no shortage of initiatives in Higher Education (HE). 4) Order 2006, The Higher Education Act 2004 (Commencement No. A second line of criticism is that the introduction of variable fees represents a step towards the privatisation of education, and makes degrees into products quite unnecessarily. My Tony Blair, and His Neoliberal Education PoliciesGlenn Rikowski, London, 12th May 2007 My Tony BlairFor the last couple of days I've been reading the press coverage of 'The Blair Years', or 'The Blair Legacy', or whatever. The initial vote in the House of Commons, on 27 January 2004, came a day before the result of the Hutton Inquiry, and it was predicted that a bad result from one or both would lead to Blair's resignation as Prime Minister. Read about our approach to external linking. Indian couple get married in full PPE clothing. The payment rates will be entirely earnings based, so that as a graduate's salary fluctuates, so will their fee payments. The symbolic target of 50% at university ... - Education News A key player on this side of the argument is the Russell Group of Universities, who have argued that they should be able to charge much increased fees in order to differentiate themselves from smaller universities. E xpanding the higher education sector was never about boosting social mobility. In 1980, only 15% stayed in full-time education after the age of 18, in any kind of training or further or higher education, including universities and what were then polytechnics. © 2021 BBC. The changes took effect in 2006, and apply to England and Wales. 1 and Transitional Provisions) Order 2004, The Higher Education Act 2004 (Commencement No. Contact. The most common criticism of the proposals is that increasing tuition fees will increase the level of debt graduates will have when they leave. There are fears the real number is even higher, as hospitals continue to turn dying patients away. Video, The birds on the balcony that found TikTok fame, Apollo 11 astronaut Michael Collins dies at 90, Nagra turned down for TV role 'for being Asian', Why India's Covid crisis matters to the whole world, Spain plans to welcome tourists under EU scheme, Two children die in stabbing at China kindergarten, Spears asks to address court over conservatorship, Man charged over oxygen SOS for dying grandfather, Tony Blair made the call for half of young adults to go into higher education, University applications reach record levels, Review calls for tuition fees to be cut to £7,500. 2 and Transitional Provision) (Wales) (Amendment) Order 2006, The Higher Education Act 2004 (Commencement No. Further to this argument, it is argued that since studies show that most graduates earn more during their career than non-graduates, it is logical that they should be the ones to pay for this opportunity, not the public at large. 2 and Transitional Provision) (Wales) Order 2005, The Higher Education Act 2004 (Commencement No. The new figures show 50.2% - but there are significant gender differences. This chapter examines developments in education policy, focusing on the transformation of the proposals in the 2005 White Paper Higher standards, better schools for all into the 2006 Education and Inspections Act. In the graduating cohort of 1980, there were 43,000 men and 25,000 women. He said pupils from the most advantaged areas were 2.4 times more likely to stay on for higher education than those from the most disadvantaged. This attitude has proved unpopular, as a two-tier system of this kind is widely viewed as unnecessary and damaging. The idea was that universities would be able to "top up" the fees to a level that more accurately reflected the funding they needed. Tony Blair Institute, trading as Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, is a company limited by guarantee registered in England and Wales (registered company number: 10505963) whose registered office is One Bartholomew Close, London, EC1A 7BL. Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. Therefore, it is quite possible that the Lords would have rejected the bill outright, which would have meant that the government would have had to table the Bill again in the next session of Parliament, and would possibly have had to use the Parliament Acts 1911 and 1949 in order to force it through Parliament and gain Royal Assent. Despite vocal opposition within his own party, Tony Blair claimed that this proposal was the only way to secure the necessary funds, and the issue was seen as a key test of his leadership. Furthermore, the top rate cannot be increased without a motion being passed in both Houses of Parliament, and the government has promised not to propose such a motion before 2009, assuaging fears that it would rise dramatically soon after the legislation was passed. The news that over half of England’s young people are going to university will be music to Tony Blair… Devolution and higher education: impact and future trends. Organisations such as the National Union of Students have argued that students are already under too much financial pressure, and that this will make things worse, not better. US investigators raid Rudy Giuliani's home1, 'A horror story': India Covid deaths pass 200,0002, Apollo 11 astronaut Michael Collins dies at 903, Nagra turned down for TV role 'for being Asian'4, Why India's Covid crisis matters to the whole world5, Spain plans to welcome tourists under EU scheme6, Two children die in stabbing at China kindergarten7, Spears asks to address court over conservatorship8, Man charged over oxygen SOS for dying grandfather9, Family meal wins international food photo contest10. It shows a significant social change over the decades. However, shortly after coming to power, the Labour Party under Prime Minister Tony Blair abolished the student maintenance grant system and introduced an up-front fee fixed at just over £1,000 per year for all university students. Figures from the Department for Education, for 2017-18, show 50.2% of people going into higher education. Of the 16 Labour MPs on the committee, only one voted against the government at second reading, and one abstained, suggesting that little criticism was likely during this stage. The strict limits imposed on fee levels limit this in practice, but the concept of competition remains. The Bill faced further opposition as it progressed through Parliament. Despite vocal opposition within his own party, Tony Blair claimed that this proposal was the only way to secure the necessary funds, and the issue was seen as a key test of his leadership. While it was predicted that people from poorer backgrounds may be put off from enrolling for a degree because of the measure, the number of young people engaged in higher education has actually risen, most markedly in those coming from poorer backgrounds. The proportion of young people in England going to university has passed the symbolic 50% mark for the first time. In The Blair Effect. American Enterprise Institute 1789 Massachusetts Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20036 Main telephone: 202.862.5800 Main fax: 202.862.7177 Ed Anthony Seldon, pp 405-426, London: Little Brown, 2001. The best ever GCSE and "A" level results and record numbers going on to apprenticeships and on to higher education 10. 3) Order 2005, The Higher Education Act 2004 (Commencement No. It then returned to the floor of the Commons for the Report stage. If these promises had been felt to have been broken, these members might well have vote against the Bill at third reading. But the war was- n’t on his mind in early 2001, when Blair asked me to set up the Office of Public Service Reform in 10 Downing Street. In 2003, a new set of proposals was drafted, which were denounced by some as breaking that promise. The Act incorporates several key changes to the financial arrangements of higher education students, including many additional terms that were added to convince those who opposed earlier drafts. The Higher Education Act 2004 ... necessary funds in a fair way, the issue remained highly contentious. Although the change does represent a significant increase in the level of fees, some universities had called for much higher rates - in some cases up to £12000 a year. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. 'Obsession' with university has divided society, says Tony Blair's son His comments come nearly 21 years after his father pledged to see 50 per cent of students go on to higher education Let me first of all acknowledge what I know many of you here feel - that Ruskin is at the moment living under the cloud of the untimely death of Raphael Samuel, who taught here with great distinction for thirty years. "These inequalities have been around for far too long and should be addressed as a priority. The government, however, insisted that fees were the best means of providing university funding. The Higher Education Act 2004 (c 8) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that introduced several changes to the higher education system in the United Kingdom, the most important and controversial being a major change to the funding of universities, and the operation of tuition fees, which affects England and Wales. The Right Honourable Tony Blair MP. Education policy page of the official Labour Party website, Church of England Assembly (Powers) Act 1919, Measures of the National Assembly for Wales, Acts of the Parliament of Northern Ireland, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Higher_Education_Act_2004&oldid=1000940074, Articles with dead external links from January 2020, Articles with permanently dead external links, Articles lacking in-text citations from September 2008, Wikipedia articles in need of updating from November 2010, All Wikipedia articles in need of updating, Articles with multiple maintenance issues, All articles with specifically marked weasel-worded phrases, Articles with specifically marked weasel-worded phrases from May 2011, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, An Act to make provision about research in the arts and humanities and about complaints by students against institutions providing higher education; to make provision about fees payable by students in higher education; to provide for the appointment of a. 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