Perception believed is reality achieved.
UK government is slashing spending on the arts in higher education — not really!
Breathlessly Art Forum’s headline
“UK GOVERNMENT HALVES ARTS FUNDING IN HIGHER EDUCATION”
announced the end of arts education funding in the United Kingdom.
The article goes on; “Dealing a transformative blow to the country’s cultural status, the UK government is slashing spending on the arts in higher education by a gutting 50 percent and awarding the spoils to science and medicine.”
Is this hard on arts subjects? Most certainly. Should it affect the offering? Perhaps? But it is certainly bad press for the Conservative government — most assuredly not!
OfS states is “significant” but is only 1% — translated the cut is “minor”!
OfS states is “significant” but is only 1% — translated the cut is “minor”!
On July 19th the Office for Students (OfS) announced high-cost subjects (Music, dance, performing arts, art and design, as well as media studies), not related to medicine or healthcare, STEM or those supporting specific labour market needs, will be subject to reductions in funding from next year.
The subsidy will be reduced from £243 per full-time student per year (in 2020-21) to £121.50.
The quantum of the cut is £20 million although this must be reduced by additional grants allocated to a number of specialist institutions such as the Royal College of Art in London and the Courtauld Institute of Art.
The OfS states “Taken in context however it is, although significant the budgetary effects is less than 1% of the overall funding package.”
I might add this cut is small enough to be likely to be offset by cost savings made by the higher education provider.
In reality the cut is minor.
Why cut for a minor benefit for so much adverse comment?
The cut is a clear signal of, a neon sign advertising if you will, government policy; “to ensure value for money and support strategic priorities across the sector, including subjects vital for the economy and labour markets,…”
The Secretary of State for Education Gavin Williamson stated on January 19th the OfS “should reprioritise funding towards the provision of high-cost, high-value that support the NHS and wider health-care policy, high-cost STEM and/or specific labour market needs.” Guidance to the Office for Students — Allocation of the Higher Education Teaching Grant funding in the 2021-22 Financial year 19th January 2021 Rt Hon. Gavin Williamson
In summary funding away from arts which doesn’t support the economy or jobs to STEM which support the economy and jobs — a good thing in the eyes of the Conservative constituency
Perception believed is reality achieved.
Photographer: Erik Johansson
The real cut to arts funding is minor. Gavin Williamson has in effect only cut £10 million from art funding, and with some appropriate management focus higher education providers should be able to take up the slack.
But Perception believed is reality achieved his cuts have clearly shown his constituency his support for jobs which means STEM and disdain other “dead-end courses. He writes in the Blog ConservativeHome “that an increase in the number of people studying science and engineering at university showed that students were starting to pivot away from dead-end courses that leave young people with nothing but debt”.
The fierce backlash from UK’s creative sector to the cuts reinforces the perception leading arts figures such as Andrew Lloyd-Webber, Bernadine Evaristo and Jarvis Cocker opposing the cut.
He was gifted not just dramatic headlines but Doomsday scenarios quotes from the arts sector; unprecedented”, “act of vandalism” (University and College Union), “This drastic cut to creative arts funding is one of the biggest attacks on arts and entertainment in English universities in living memory.” (Dr Jo Grady, general secretary of the UCU).
Secretary of State for Education Gavin Williamson has delivered his promise without much pain at all and with much fanfare.
He has taken painlessly delivered government priorities and demonstrated again genius of Oscar Wilde’s maxim:
“There is only one thing in the world worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about.”
