Cameron has stated that we need to value our universities as export opportunities. He's absolutely right! So why are they still facing cuts and other economic strictures? Why aren't we pouring money into them to help them expand as any other great export potential instead of starving them of what they need to grow? British universities, and indeed other world-famous academic institutions like many of our 'public' schools, boast at least 800 years of history. Oxford and Cambridge in particular are in the world's Top 5 places to send the planet's youth. Entry competition is fierce. In pure business terms demand vastly exceeds supply. I have heard stats like 400 applicants for every place offered. So in business terms again that means there's a massive market for high quality education. BUT BRITISH PEOPLE ARE NOT ALLOWED TO PAY FOR IT LIKE FOREIGNERS CAN. The 'fairness' of our system of selection requires everyone to be judged on merit alone, which...
My kids call me Grom (Grumpy Old Man). OK, pedants will know that ought to be GOM, but a Grom sounds grumpy. I started building internet businesses in the 1980s and these days invest in other peoples' start-ups. Now that less of my life is about to happen than has happened, I've got a lot to get off my chest. This blog is a series of posts about things that annoy me, things that excite me or things that just need to be said. Grumbles of a Grom... Grombles