Tribune

IT’S one thing for Gordon Brown to abandon some Blairite mantras, as some of his supporters claim he is doing, but quite another to cast adrift funding for the Open University – the vision of another Labour Prime Minister, Harold Wilson, to improve opportunities for the many, not just the few. However, the Government has announced that, from the next academic year, it will no longer fund OU students in England and Northern Ireland taking any higher education qualification that is equivalent to, or lower than, one they already have. Those affected represent a substantial percentage of OU learners. The OU will lose a significant part of its teaching grant. There are some exemptions to the new draft policy, including initial training for teachers, nurses, social workers and all foundation degrees. But the OU fears that higher fees will deter many graduates from university-level professional development. And that would run counter to the Government’s priority to re-skill the nation’s workforce – something at which the OU excels. Since Downing Street is very keen on petitions, the OU is asking its supporters to sign the one created on it behalf. This can be done by visiting http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/ELQFunding.