Earlier this month the Times warned that 'Universities failing to promote diversity will face funding cuts'.
According to the paper:
Under proposals to reform how £2 billion a year of taxpayer funding is allocated for academic research, universities will have to show how they are 'robustly' tackling inequities and promoting diversity and inclusion across all areas of their activities.
In particular, they will have to demonstrate the percentage of black, Asian and mixed-race academics eligible for funding and provide evidence of the ‘percentage of promotion success per under-represented groups’.
What does this mean in practice? Well, one way universities can boost their “diversity” is to recruit students from abroad – something they’re hardly reluctant to do given the overheads they can charge foreign students.
But what Brits might know less about is that recruitment can mean taxpayers coughing up too. Unbeknown to many voters are the huge numbers of international students we fund, something I have often stumbled upon while researching my Substack Woke Waste.
Foreign students are funded via multiple streams. One of the most common ways is through UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) – a quango with a budget of £9 billion in taxpayer-funding a year. UKRI then passes on the funding to its nine research councils to redistribute:
One of these is the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) which has funded the PhD of an Indian researcher exploring “the impact of ‘race’, class, gender and coloniality in child-centred learning within home educating communities of
Discussion
Comments
This week across the site:
To join in with the discussion please make a donation to the Daily Sceptic.
Profanity and abuse will be removed and may lead to a permanent ban.
Piled Higher & Deeper has the ring of truth about it and was concocted by the applicants themselves based on history. Just as has been found with scientific papers that most Professors are required to produce, over 60% of the peer reviewed scientific papers, the science cannot be duplicated. Intelligencia living in LA LA land for an income. And they call the masses dumb! There are different types of dumb.
British students doing worthwhile masters degrees and PHDs struggle to receive funding of any sort whatsoever! For most if not all even a student loan is not available.
One of my grand daughters was doing a medical research degree into placental insufficiency, and had to pay all fees and living expenses personally. Obviously if the family couldn’t support her this would have been impossible.
She was also unable to find a place in a hall of residence for mature students because those places were all reserved for foreign students!
Her sister has a deep interest in the education available for children with autism and would have to fund any research degree herself.
I guess any project that might benefit large swathes of British people are not considered to be worthy of British tax payer funding. Obviously DEI projects that appear pointless, even for the tiny minorities involved, are deemed worthy of public funds.
We know that white British boys are now the most disadvantaged group in our society but all young people from modest backgrounds are now considerably disadvantaged because of ill advised government policy.
Universities also don’t pay tax because education is seen as a charitable activity. They are of course businesses, often with 30% of students coming from overseas. If Rachel from Accounts wants to raise more revenue, why doesn’t she remove their charitable status?
Amazing research by Charlotte Gill, once again.
It’s completely wicked that our cost of living is soul-crushingly ruinous and yet we are still forced to pay for ridiculous schemes like these. Leaders since Thatcher need incarcerating for enabling this.
Other horrors I have found (as I too am sickened by how our govts are treasonously mocking and undermining our nation and its hardworking citizens):
59% of post grad courses are filled by hmm ‘students’ from overseas – so basically they are allowed in just to study one or two year courses. All well and good if they go? But they don’t have to. They can stay if they get a job? In their related study area? No, a job in McDonald’s is sufficient, or delivering pizzas.
Worse, there are no exit checks on students converting to work visas. A Gov UK website admitted this when I checked about a year ago. They were trying to update the system but this was a glaring loophole. I wouldn’t be surprised if it is still there. The exit check system does not cover students who stay to work. So a student can say they are working, if challenged (ha ha) but there are no checks to ensure that they leave… Read more »
Call me cynical if you want, but the research being funded into child-centred learning within home educating communities of colour, with a focus on the early years could well be paying him to stay at home and educate his young family.
They need Ukraine to launder the money, but it seems there are many avenues for washing!
I’ve worked on a project witth UKRI. Absolutely clueless, wool pulled over eyes left, right and centre. They are the classic Blob department: “Ive got a budget, I have to spend it”. Trump would close them this afternoon. If they are so good, perhaps they could tell us some of their success stories?
The state should fund almost nothing. Essential services either provided directly or purchased from private providers. Everything else should have to survive on a commercial basis, not on money extracted with menaces from private individuals by the state. The state is a necessary evil, the bar for when it is allowed to steal from people should be very high.
Not just funding students in general, but specifically to promote anti-British and anti-White sentiments. The White Establishment must really be a curious mixture of sadists and masochists.
Our rulers are profoundly antagonistic towards the English people. They tolerate the Scots and the Welsh, but they hate the English.
Indeed – I guess the Welsh and Scots are useful stick with which to beat the English, just like other convenient “minority” groups. I doubt our rulers care about any of them.
This has been going on for decades.
I remember when I was working at the engineering department of one of the “new” universities (former polytechnics) back in the early 90’s, during our coffee breaks one of the lecturers would read out the title of some of the most ridiculous Ph.D. dissertations that he came across that day. The alphabet people were already making a lot of noise, more than 30 years ago.
Another aspect of this is: follow the money.
I remember a young lady who wanted to study squirrels. She said “Who on earth would give me the money to study squirrels for 3 years? Nobody is interested in squirrels. But if you say that you want to study the effect of climate change on squirrels? The coffers open, the grants are awarded, the money starts flowing.”
And those alphabet students and low rung, alphabet lecturers from then are now running academia. Is there any wonder that such rubbish is proliferating?
What a joke. Great examples given of how useless most Pretty Happy Dude degrees are, and how they push the narratives. Fake news will deem these to be ‘science” and will quote from them. Great idea re UK DOGE!
A very large number of Ph.D. students at universities are youngsters who don’t want to grow up.
The university environment offers a cosseted existence, extended adolescence, lack of serious responsibilities and an echo chamber for their views. It is effectively a semi-parasitic life, with prospects of some university job at the end of it.
Before I get accused of being condescending and ignorant: I spent 4 years in academia – albeit in an engineering department – so I base my opinion on personal experience.
I too spent time in and out of university departments, albeit over 40 years ago.
Some mission creep of late in sciences. 4-Year MSc become norm for aspirants to science career, where 3-year BSc used to suffice; ditto, 4-year PhD vs 3-years in 1970’s and 80’s.
I don’t recall being cossetted. In science degree, 3-4 hours lectures 6 mornings a week, plus 3 afternoons of practical work. Throw in 3 or 4 tutorials a week as well. In PhD, that crunch point 1 year in – can I make a go of this?
None of the continuous assessment lark. Exam system set up to favour the devotedly studious and big-match players.
From observation of two recent students I know well, a physical sciences degree still requires rigour and commitment, whereas a 3-year economics degree with 12 hours contact time could have been done in 2 years.
I have an engineering degree, I graduated in 1991. Yes, I had to work hard for it.
Then I did a Ph.D. (I wish I hadn’t…)
I’m not saying all university degrees are useless. But look at some of research titles mentioned above. What’s the point?
What rigorous assessment can be made for this subject: “disorientation, care and futurities in the LGBTQIAPN+ artists’ moving image from the Brazilian Amazon’.
It’s all bollox.
Agreed – the Technical College, where my father once taught engineering HNC’s and HND’s to students on day-release from local industries (that mostly no longer exist…), is nowadays a university offering a degree in Cartoon and Comic Arts . Says it all.
They’re coming just to do masters i think, not just PHDs. And they get interpreters to correct their coursework. It should be exam only with exams in English – otherwise why study at a UK uni.
Yes, the DOGE UK is a great idea, but they should ditch that fluffy teddy bear on the logo. It’s bad enough to have the head of the EU Security leader blubbering with hurt feelings after JD Vance blasted them all in Munich— what we don’t need is to be represented by a fluffy teddy bear.
The DOGE UK logo should feature an old naval cannon from the Battle of Trafalgar instead.
The Terminator 4!
Well delved. No wonder Britain is £2.8 trillion in debt.
The amount of wasted money is amazing. I wonder if there are no checks and balances on how it is spent or if it is a conscious action or series of actions to channel funding like this?
In the US they are considering giving every taxpayer a $5000 cheque from all the money they are saving.