Hundreds of people marched down Holloway Road, north London, on Saturday of last week in protest at huge job cuts threatened in the area.Read the rest here.
Hundreds of jobs are under threat at London Metropolitan University and at the Office of the Public Guardian at Archway Tower.
By Will RocheSERIOUS allegations of “conspiracy” were made against an Islington university in parliament on Wednesday.You can comment on their article or click below to comment on our site.
The Westminster Hall debate called by Jeremy Corbyn MP, and attended by high-profile politicians including the Universities Minister David Lammy MP and former Conservative leader Iain Duncan Smith, heard claims from a top Tory front-bencher that London Metropolitan University intentionally “misreported” student drop-out rates to increase its funding allowance.
An external audit of the university last year by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (Hefce), an independent quango that manages all universities, found London Met had wrongly claimed £36.5million over three years for students who did not finish their courses.
Conservative MP Rob Wilson, a former shadow higher education minister, told the debate: “Were university departments told to suppress drop-out information? My information is that that is exactly what they did. Far from being a cock-up, this was a conspiracy.”
The Tory Whip added: “Government figures show that, in 2005-06 and 2006-07, London Met reported non-completion rates of between two and four per cent, when it would be expected that such a university would report figures closer to 30 per cent. Why did the university get it so wrong? Why did the Hefce not pick it up much earlier?”
Mr Corbyn said: “That is a very interesting question – I am looking for the answer myself. Suddenly it fell to a very low figure. The questions that we are asking all point to the need for a proper inquiry into what went wrong. Above all, we need to try to get through this crisis.”
He told David Lammy:“I would like the Minister to understand the degree of anger and concern locally and within the teaching and student bodies.”
University bosses plan to claw-back the cash by axing 550 full time staff posts leading to more than 5,000 student places being lost. Entire departments will be closed down in the cost-cutting cull.
Labour MP Emily Thornberry said: “It remains unclear how incorrect information about non-completions led to the university being overpaid. Others have referred to an error by the administrators, but I spent 20 years as a criminal lawyer dealing with cases that looked very much like this one, and I do not understand why the police have not been involved.”
Mr Lammy told MPs that a forthcoming independent inquiry into higher education funding patterns would focus on recent events at London Met.
He said because universities were “autonomous” it would not be right to interfere in their accounts. He said: “It might be nice for the local minister to go in and start organising a university’s finances, but we live in a democracy in which this Parliament has voted for that autonomy and maintains it. That means that the Government cannot intervene in any situation in which a university is in discussion with the funding council.”
Diana Abbott MP, who had pleaded with Mr Lammy not to “hide behind” the quango Hefce – an unelected body that manages all universities and agrees levels of public funding – could be heard loudly criticising Mr Lammy in the Commons lobby after the debate.
London Metropolitan University is the largest university in London spread over four campuses in Hackey, City and Islington. Notable alumni include the radio presenter Zoe Ball, the film director Lord Puttnam and the comedian Vic Reeves – but it is celebrated for widening access to people from disadvantaged backgrounds with a range of unique courses. More than 97 per cent of the students went to state schools and more than half are from ethnic minorities. It is felt that Hefce should give more leeway to universities taking students that are, statistically, more likely to drop out midway through courses.
Mr Duncan Smith MP told the debate: “The university has some specialities that are almost unique to it, such as cabinet-making. The only other university in the UK that offers such a course is Buckingham, which is a private university, and the people we are talking about are not the kind who will go there to get these skills.”
Special praise was given to a range of courses at London Met including the Caribbean Studies, which helps forge links with universities in other deprived parts of the world.
Labour MP Ian Gibson told the debate: “More and more universities in this country depend on international contacts and on students from overseas paying astronomical fees. It seems to me that the London Met has started something by looking at poorer countries with poorer students. It is making relationships across the world, and that is worth a five-star rating.”
Demonstrations have been staged outside the Holloway Road buildings and Vice Chancellor Brian Roper was forced to resign in April. He continues to be paid his £150,000 until November despite being replaced on Monday by the “trouble-shooter” Alfred Morris CBE. The new Vice Chancellor is known in the industry for turning around the fortunes of education institutions facing financial ruin.
A sit-in student occupation of university buildings in City ended on Friday and lecturers and a massive protest will march from Highbury Fields at 11am, down Holloway Road on Saturday to a rally in Archway Park.
22 May 2009
MPs demand apology from Lammy as they learn there will be no independent scrutiny of London Met crisis. Melanie Newman reports
The “independent inquiry” announced by David Lammy into the crisis at London Metropolitan University is nothing more than an ongoing exercise commissioned by the Higher Education Funding Council for England, it has emerged.
Read the rest here, and perhaps we need to start writing new letters to the 'Right Honorable' David Lammy that updates this old one from students here. Post your suggested text in comments below...
21 May 2009
Read the whole article here.Policy Exchange wants to inflict a bankrupt ideology on London's students and communities, argues Cliff Snaith
Policy Exchange, the right-wing think-tank, has "discovered" that universities can go to the wall ("Bankruptcy should be a real option, argues think-tank", 23 April).
Specifically, London institutions can be closed: by implication, London Metropolitan University is first in line. But I believe that the only bankruptcy exposed by Policy Exchange is that of the Right's higher education strategy.
21 May 2009
MPs allege that Hefce colluded with university over inaccurate data. Melanie Newman reports
The Government has announced an independent inquiry into how London Metropolitan University came to owe £36 million to the Higher Education Funding Council for England after MPs suggested that the two bodies had colluded over inaccurate data submissions.
21 May 2009
Advice has been delivered on positions under corporate insolvency law. Melanie Newman writes
Governors at London Metropolitan University have received legal advice on their responsibilities should the university go bankrupt.
The university is in financial trouble after the Higher Education Funding Council for England decided to claw back £36 million that it paid for teaching, based on inaccurate student data submitted by the university.
19 May 2009
London Metropolitan University (LMU) has today appointed Alfred Morris as its new interim vice-chancellor. The news comes as MPs prepare to press the government to investigate the institution's failings.
"Mr. Lammy: There will, of course, be an independent inquiry, and an inquiry by the National Audit Office into the financial arrangements for universities, which will have particular regard to the London Met situation."Let's hope that we'll see more responsibility for the current crisis at London Met from the managers who got away with this for so long, and not us staff and students who have been told to pay the price...
(c) Guy Smallman
All the above photos are (c) Guy Smallman
To Whom It May Concern:
As of 17:00 on Monday 11th May 2009, a large group of students from London Metropolitan University’s John Cass department of Art, Media & Design began occupation of part of the Commercial Road building located at 41 Commercial Road, London E1 1LA in protest to university management’s plans for imminent and unprecedented staff redundancies. These redundancies are the result of a drastic funding cut by HEFCE of £15m per year, as well as a ‘clawback’ of a further £36.5m, which have been imposed due to inaccurate submission of attendance figures. Under the rules, students are identified as non-completions if they do not take the final assessment of each module.
As a result of these unprecedented cuts, the Sir John Cass Department for Art, Media & Design is posed to be hit particularly hard, with projected job losses of over 50% in many subject fields. Examples of proposed job losses in specific subject fields are as follows:
· Musical Instruments – 2 out of 4 posts (Full-time Equivalent)
· Silversmithing & Jewellery – 3 from 7.8 staff (Full-time Equivalent)
· Furniture, Product & Upholstery – 5 from 11 staff (Full-time Equivalent)
· Polymer Technology – 2 from 5.5 staff (Full-time Equivalent)
· Media & Music Technology – 1.5 from 18 staff (Full-time Equivalent)
· Technicians: 15 from 30 in the department as a whole
It is worth pointing out that a significant proportion of these staff are employed on a part-time basis (for example in the furniture department alone there are 5 tutors classified as part-time). Part-time staff are counted as 0.5 full-time equivalent posts, so the actual teaching deficit created by these redundancies will have a profound and devastating effect on current courses. These redundancies could potentially come into effect before teaching begins for the 09/10 Autumn semester.
These teaching cuts have been planned despite Secretary of Universities John Denham calling for savings to be made in administration costs, rather than the core university business of teaching and research. Mr Denham has also recently called for universities across the country to offer more vocational degrees. It would appear to LMU students that management is not listening to government and forging ahead with plans which will almost certainly spell the end for many high-quality vocational degrees.
Up until this point senior management have relayed almost no information on proposed redundancies and cutbacks to students, creating an air of distress and frustration. Many students are unsure whether they wish to continue their courses with so much uncertainty, it is expected that most students will not know the outcome of next years teaching until they return at the beginning of the Autumn semester.
Today’s student occupation is the result of growing anger amongst students who feel their education is under severe and imminent threat. They are calling for the Higher Education Funding Council for England to intervene and engage with LMU management, who they believe lack vision and inspiration to sustainably weather the financial storm currently surrounding the university. They are also calling for management at the Sir John Cass Department for Art, Media & Design (i.e. Brian Falconbridge & David Butler) to engage in constructive discussion directly with students, regarding ways in which the severity of staff redundancies can be lessened.
At it’s April board meeting, HEFCE agreed that “if the recovery of overpaid grant had very significant financial implications for a higher education institution, then, on a case-by-case basis, HEFCE might work with it to develop an investment proposal founded on the need to achieve systemic change that repositioned the institution, thus strengthening the future sustainability of its provision”. The students of London Metropolitan University are now calling on HEFCE to act on its word, as the only possible outcome of management’s current planned redundancies will be to have a devastating effect on the frontlines of higher education- namely students and teachers.
Armed with modern technologies the occupying students will be giving regular updates of their progress via Twitter, their campaign can be followed at www.twitter.com/savelondonmet
Further information on the financial crisis facing London Metropolitan University can be found by visiting www.lmuucu.org.uk or www.savelondonmetuni.blogspot.com
Or contact savelondonmet@gmail.com for further information.
__________
UPDATE 12/5/09
At 22:30 last night, management's initial reaction was to call police on the occupying students in an attempt to have them forcibly removed. Fortunately for the students they were unable to do anything and the occupation continues. For further information and regularly updated photos, please go to www.twitter.com/savelondonmet
WE HAVE OCCUPIED PART OF THE COMMERCIAL ROAD BUILDING.
I have recently received a phone call from the schoolkeepers informing me that the management will be calling the police to end the occupation at 9pm sharp tonight.I have informed the media of this and expect that there will be coverage.
Also sent our head of department, Brian Falconbridge, an email telling him that the actions of the management will be monitored by the media and that we have a meeting with George Galloway on Thursday at the Houses of Parliament regarding his incompetence.
Don't let them push you around!
Lecturers at London's largest university are striking over plans that could see 550 job cuts.
Members of the University and College Union (UCU) vowed to bring London Metropolitan University (LMU) "to a standstill" during the one-day strike.
HUNDREDS of lecturers and support staff at London Metropolitan University have voted for strike action in a row over massive jobs cuts.The university in Holloway Road has been hit by funding cuts and repayment demands of more than £50million after it wrongly claimed government funding for students who did not finish their courses. Union chiefs have criticised London Met for plans to claw back the deficit by axing at least 550 academic and staff posts – entire departments will be shut down under the proposals...
Read the full story here
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