Thoughts on the future of higher education in the UK: A personal view with a historical context

Abstract

Before the effect of the COVID-19 Pandemic, there had been continued debate about the future of Higher Education (HE) in the UK. It is now accepted that the effect of the pandemic will have a long-lasting effect on HE in the UK and elsewhere. This paper addresses the changes that are currently taking place, based on a strategy that aims to develop a future knowledge-based economy, following the UK governments 2019 landmark review of HE. It explores the underlying parallels between the current situation and certain historical events that catalysed the development of a new approach to HE in the past, which is very relevant today. In this context, the paper discusses why major changes in UK HE provision is now required as a response to the fact that although the cost of education is rising, employers are reporting that graduates are increasingly unprepared for the workplace. In this respect, the paper addresses a model for HE that focuses on ‘earn-asyou-learn’ apprenticeships and work-place-based learning. The key to this is the emphasis that the UK government is now placing on funding new ‘Technological Colleges’, in which students are trained by experts from the industry on a contractual basis, rather than by university academics with tenured positions.