CRISIS IN SCIENCE NEEDS IMMEDIATE ACTION

Save British Science today called on the Government to take some simple measures to alleviate the immediate crisis in university science departments.

“We agree with ministers that, in the longer term, we need to encourage more students into the core sciences,” said Professor Richard Joyner, Chairman of SBS, “but there is a short-term crisis now. When we met the Higher Education Minister in late December, he asked us to write to him with some thoughts on the problem”.

SBS’s letter to Dr Kim Howells MP makes it clear that we believe that the Prime Minister and Chancellor’s stated policy of making Britain the best place in the world to do science is under threat. And we blame the policies of the Department for Education and Skills, and its quango the Higher Education Funding Council for England.

“Viewed in terms of the nation’s long term interests, the continuing decline of student numbers in core sciences, maths and engineering represents a clear case of market failure. Dealing with market failure is one of the generally accepted purposes of Government,” said Richard Joyner.

“A root cause of the problem is that the teaching funding that HEFCE provides to Universities for core sciences such as chemistry and physics is inadequate. Even when student recruitment is buoyant, teaching these subjects is not viable without substantial research funding. This is not the situation for classroom-based subjects such as Law, English Literature or Business Studies, where there are many departments that continue to prosper despite having very little or no research funding.”

“HEFCE should establish a level playing field, rather than changing the funding formula to the detriment of science and engineering, as it did this year. This is not a plea for extra money. The funds to achieve our suggestions could be obtained by diversion of funds from classroom-based subjects or, in the immediate short term, by diverting capital funding to the revenue stream.”

The full text of SBS’s letter to Dr Howells appears here.

ENDS

For further information, contact Richard Joyner on 07985 905802.