Asked by: Paul Girvan (Democratic Unionist Party - South Antrim)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if his Department will commission a report on the level of academic freedom in UK universities.
Answered by Michelle Donelan
Universities must protect academic freedom and must be places where staff and students with a diverse range of views are comfortable to express their views without fear of repercussion.
A number of recent reports have provided evidence of a range of threats to freedom of speech and academic expression at UK universities. A 2019 report by Kings College London found signs of a “chilling effect”; as 1 in 4 students reported that they were scared to express their views for fear of repercussions.
A recent report by Policy Exchange found that some academics feel similarly reluctant to express their views, with some academics reporting that they face discrimination throughout recruitment and promotion processes as a result of their political views.
Lawful free speech and academic freedom must be supported to the fullest extent at universities so that students, staff and visiting speakers feel free to explore a range of ideas and challenge perceived wisdom. Academic freedom is essential, and individuals or groups of academics must be free to carry out research even on contentious issues. We are exploring a range of legislative and non-legislative options to ensure this and my department will set out further steps in due course.
Asked by: Paul Girvan (Democratic Unionist Party - South Antrim)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to ensure freedom of academic thought and expression at UK universities.
Answered by Michelle Donelan
Universities must protect academic freedom and must be places where staff and students with a diverse range of views are comfortable to express their views without fear of repercussion.
A number of recent reports have provided evidence of a range of threats to freedom of speech and academic expression at UK universities. A 2019 report by Kings College London found signs of a “chilling effect”; as 1 in 4 students reported that they were scared to express their views for fear of repercussions.
A recent report by Policy Exchange found that some academics feel similarly reluctant to express their views, with some academics reporting that they face discrimination throughout recruitment and promotion processes as a result of their political views.
Lawful free speech and academic freedom must be supported to the fullest extent at universities so that students, staff and visiting speakers feel free to explore a range of ideas and challenge perceived wisdom. Academic freedom is essential, and individuals or groups of academics must be free to carry out research even on contentious issues. We are exploring a range of legislative and non-legislative options to ensure this and my department will set out further steps in due course.
Asked by: Paul Girvan (Democratic Unionist Party - South Antrim)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department will take to ensure academic standards are maintained by UK universities that amend course material to comply with Chinese National Security Laws.
Answered by Michelle Donelan
It is absolutely critical that universities ensure all students have access to the teaching materials they need to continue their studies and fully immerse themselves in our world leading education system.
Academic freedom and freedom of speech are cornerstones of the UK’s world-class higher education system, and are fundamental to a student’s experience, wherever they may be based. Providers in England are required to uphold these freedoms through a combination of legislation and regulation by the Office for Students and we expect all universities to comply with these expectations whilst also ensuring they abide by any local regulations.
Following my letter to Universities UK, and given the importance of these values, departmental officials are supporting a Universities UK-led programme of work to assist universities manage and mitigate the security risks associated with any international collaboration and to maintain UK higher education values. A key output of this work is the production of guidelines to support the sector, to be published this autumn.
Asked by: Paul Girvan (Democratic Unionist Party - South Antrim)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of a nation-wide accreditation scheme for university grades.
Answered by Chris Skidmore
The government has set a clear expectation that universities must use their awarding powers responsibly and must not inflate grades for their own reputation or league table ranking. It is vital that students, graduates and the public are confident in the value of a university degree.
UK higher education providers with degree-awarding powers are responsible for the academic standards of their awards. Providers are held to account through the UK Quality Code for Higher Education which requires providers to use external expertise, assessment and classification processes that are reliable, fair, and transparent.
The sector has agreed to recognise new standards for all degree classifications. These set out what criteria students need to meet in order to achieve each level of classification of Bachelor’s degree with honours qualifications, helping to ensure degree standards are reliable and reflect the level of a student’s achievements.
Asked by: Paul Girvan (Democratic Unionist Party - South Antrim)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of bringing forward legislative proposals to make it mandatory for universities to provide 365-day access to accommodation for estranged students with independent status.
Answered by Chris Skidmore
Everyone with the talent and potential to succeed in higher education (HE) should be able to access it, regardless of their background. The government is absolutely committed to widening access for students from disadvantaged backgrounds. We recognise that the barriers to access and success can be particularly high for some groups including students estranged from their families.
However, government plays no direct role in the provision of student residential accommodation, nor does it specifically fund universities to provide such accommodation. As such, it is for HE providers to consider how they can best support all their students with their accommodation needs, including estranged students.
The Office for Students (OfS), the regulator for HE in England, encourages HE providers to sign the ‘Stand Alone Pledge’ and to consider a range of options around accommodation, including offering 365 day options to estranged students, or developing a summer accommodation bursary to act as a buffer for estranged students during the summer months. The government supports the OfS on this approach.
Asked by: Paul Girvan (Democratic Unionist Party - South Antrim)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to tackle abuse directed at teachers from parents (a) online and (b) in person.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The majority of schools and colleges provide safe and secure working environments for teaching staff.
All staff should be able to work in an environment in which pupils can develop, and staff can have fulfilling careers free from harassment and bullying. Schools and colleges have a duty and a responsibility to protect both pupils and staff. Any bullying of staff, including cyberbullying, is unacceptable and it is important that schools and colleges take measures to prevent and tackle this.
The Department provides specific guidance for headteachers and staff on how to protect themselves from cyberbullying and how to tackle it if it happens. The guidance is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/preventing-and-tackling-bullying.
My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education has recently announced that this guidance will be reviewed and updated.
The Department’s guidance “keeping children safe in education” also makes it clear that online safety training for staff should be integral to a school's safeguarding approach, and that appropriate filters and monitoring systems should be in place to help to safeguard the whole school community. This guidance is available here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/741314/Keeping_Children_Safe_in_Education__3_September_2018_14.09.18.pdf.
To prevent abusive behaviour in schools, the Department’s guidance on controlling access to premises also makes it clear that it is a criminal offence for a person who is on school premises without lawful authority to cause or permit a nuisance or disturbance. The guidance makes it clear that a school may consider that aggressive, abusive or insulting behaviour, or language from a parent presents a risk to staff or pupils. This guidance can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/controlling-access-to-school-premises.
The Department is currently developing new school and college security guidance which will be published later this year. This will include references to help deal with violent crime, and encourage the development of policies and culture to help reduce and address any violence-related incidents.
Asked by: Paul Girvan (Democratic Unionist Party - South Antrim)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment his Department has made of the potential effect of a reduction in tuition fees for English students on Universities in Northern Ireland.
Answered by Chris Skidmore
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 03 April 2019 to Question 237750.
Asked by: Paul Girvan (Democratic Unionist Party - South Antrim)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment his Department has made of the potential effect of a reduction in tuition fees on the ability of universities in the constituent parts of the UK to meet the objective of the Industrial Strategy to create prosperity in those nations.
Answered by Chris Skidmore
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 03 April 2019 to Question 237750.