"Vulnerable" science subjects granted £75m
Wednesday, 08 Nov 2006 12:22
Vital but undersubscribed science subjects will receive £25m each year
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Extra funding for high-cost and essential science subjects has been announced today by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFC).
A total of £75 million will support physics, chemical engineering and mineral, metallurgy and materials engineering over three years from 2007.
These subjects are strategically important to society but are in a vulnerable position due to the relatively low demand to study them from students.
Last week prime minister Tony Blair spoke of the need to encourage the uptake of science, arguing that it is "utterly critical" for the UK's economy.
Commenting on the steps being taken to increase the number of students opting to study the subjects, Professor David Eastwood, HEFC chief executive, said: "We are already implementing a £160 million programme of work. Much of this is designed to raise the aspirations of young people to study subjects which are of fundamental importance to the prosperity and knowledge base of the country.
"Through this additional funding of £25 million-a-year over three years we want to ensure that in the future there will be sufficient provision to meet increased demand from students."
Bill Rammell, minister for lifelong learning, added that the extra funding should help to "bolster" the number of people opting to study science beyond A-level.
But the University and College Union (UCU) said that the extra funding has come too late and must be made available now rather than next year as planned, warning that some courses, staff and students cannot afford to wait for the money.
According to UCU, the department of physics at Reading University is facing closure within a matter of days and is exactly the kind of 'strategically important' department that the HEFC could help if the funding was implemented now.
UCU joint general secretary, Sally Hunt, said: "Over the past few weeks and months we have heard nothing but encouragement for science and innovation in the UK from all sides. However, warm words mean very little if they look the other way when scientists are being made redundant and labs are being closed.
"Support for key scientists, such as those at Reading, appears to be in short supply. No one wants ministers and funders to be meddling incessantly in university affairs but their current failure to act is threatening our economic future."