Williamson: ‘dead-end’ degrees give students ‘nothing but debt’

Education secretary Gavin Williamson has said he wants to “end the dominance” of the traditional bachelor’s degree in English higher education, hitting out at “dead-end courses” that give students “nothing but a mountain of debt”.

In a speech delivered on 25 February for the launch of Sir Michael Barber’s review of digital teaching and learning in higher education, Mr Williamson said “many of our degrees are absolutely fantastic, but they should never be the default”.

“I want to end the dominance of the three-year bachelor’s degree in higher education. Whether it’s a degree apprenticeship, a higher national diploma or a set of modules in engineering and business, for many people there are simply better ways of studying,” he said.

Mr Williamson added that “instead of pushing young people on to dead-end courses that give them nothing but a mountain of debt, we need universities and colleges to work together to address the gaps in our labour market, and create the valuable and technical courses our society needs”.

“I know that they are up for this challenge – indeed, many are already embracing it and already delivering on it,” he added, highlighting that the Westminster government’s Lifetime Skills Guarantee “is how we will make this dream a reality”.

The guarantee, announced in September, will give individuals flexible loan funding for four years of post-18 education, allowing people to break study into shorter segments.

Earlier this month, former universities minister Chris Skidmore warned ministers against neglecting the role of higher education institutions in their ambitions to revive lifelong learning.

Mr Williamson also spoke about the potential for online learning to transform international study and for degrees to be delivered partly remotely and partly in the UK.

“Rather than simply delivering degrees on site, in future universities will be able to provide a much wider and more innovative portfolio. We may, perhaps, see degrees in which an international student studies remotely for two years before completing their degree with an in-person experience year on a UK campus,” he said.

“This sort of change would revolutionise demand, at a stroke bringing a UK degree in reach of the emerging middle classes of India and south-east Asia.”

ellie.bothwell@timeshighereducation.com