tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36841665.post2973974289888617987..comments2023-12-31T13:47:05.758+00:00Comments on Fat Man on a Keyboard: VandalismThe Plumphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09244528534476387323noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36841665.post-76823636685123932732008-01-14T20:36:00.000+00:002008-01-14T20:36:00.000+00:00I have a feeling that the ELQ proposal is a perfec...I have a feeling that the ELQ proposal is a perfect example of the law of unintended consequences. Over a sly Benson & Hedges someone pointed out that hacking £100M of funding out of the toffs who already have a degree and promising it to little Johnny so that he can get on to a Foundation Degree in leaf sweeping has to be a nailed on vote winner. Of course many things can interact in a complex system and nobody spotted that most of the money would be taken from the OU and Birkbeck - the larger providers of adult ed in this country - and neither is well placed to react quickly to cover the funding short fall. On the upside both have a few savvy students who all have a vote and I think that much of the current discomfort is coming from the emails and letters that distance learners are sending to their own MP - mess around with the Uni of Kent and you might upset three MPS, mess around with distance learning providers and you can expect a lot of your colleagues to be stalking the corridors of Westminster in order to bend your ear.<BR/><BR/>As long as we keep the pressure on I think they will pull back - £100M is a lot of money in education but in government terms it's loose change and I don't think they'll want to go to the wall over this with all the other stuff that's floating about.Nogbadhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04838817425838931554noreply@blogger.com