HE White Paper
Universities for hire: the higher education white paper and the marketisation of academia
By Jim Wolfreys
The coalition government wants our universities to be run in the interests of privilege and profit.
The higher education white paper will make students pay for their studies with a lifetime of debt. It will create a marketplace for university places, where branding and auditing take precedence over teaching and research.
‘Unviable’ universities will be allowed to go to the wall. Private providers will have access to state funding, in the
form of student loans. They will be encouraged to compete with public institutions, driving down costs by cutting pay,
pensions and jobs.
These attempts to turn public money into private profit have already failed us in the banking sector and the health
service. This pamphlet outlines what is at stake and calls for mass resistance to defend our universities.