Politics Home Article | Making Money Shouldn’t Be Universities’ Priority, Says Zack Polanski

Zack Polanski is set to speak to UCU members tonight (Alamy)

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Addressing members of the University and College Union (UCU) this evening, Polanski, who wants to abolish tuition fees, will accuse successive Westminster governments of seeing higher education as a “commodity”, rather than “a public good”.

In remarks shared with PoliticsHome ahead of his speech, Polanski is expected to warn that “tens of thousands” of academics nationwide are facing redundancies and job insecurity, while those who stay in the sector are suffering “shattered morale, crushing workloads, and stifled innovation – often while employed on exploitative, short-term contracts”. 

“We all lose out when learning is treated as a commodity, when skills are seen as something to be sold at the highest cost possible, when curiosity and creativity are dismissed because they can’t be measured by exams,” he is set to say.

His speech comes as the higher education sector continues to face severe financial strain.

Earlier this month, a report by MPs on the House of Commons education select committee warned that dozens of universities are at risk of insolvency due to “unprecedented” economic pressure and that the Labour government has no clear plan to prevent it.

Many institutions have already cut courses and staff in a bid to save money. 

The UCU’s general secretary, Jo Grady, told PoliticsHome late last year that universities face a financial calamity similar to the 2008 banking crisis, and accused ministers of being “asleep at the wheel”.

Restrictions on student visas brought in by the previous Conservative government are seen as a major reason for the financial pressure facing universities, with overseas students having become a key source of funding for British universities in recent years. The current Labour government has brought in further restrictions since entering office in a bid to reduce net migration.

Polanski is set to say that while countries like Finland have historically invested in universities, the UK has put “all its bets on financial services”.

“Look where that’s left us: A stagnating economy, poor productivity, and an education sector stretched to breaking point.

“Instead of education being prized as the public good it is, our universities have been forced to turn students into customers and focus on making money above all else, just to survive,” the London Assembly Member is expected to tell UCU members.

His speech is also the latest example of Polanski’s bid to develop ties with unions, some of which are unhappy with the performance of Keir Starmer’s Labour government. 

Earlier this year, Polanski became the first Green leader to address the National Education Union, claiming that schools had been “pushed to the brink by the toxic twin pressures of ideologically driven reorganisation, and an unforgivable squeeze in budgets”.

Polanski is looking to maintain the Green Party’s momentum after this month’s local elections demonstrated the electoral threat it poses to Labour. The Greens won five councils and two mayoralities on 7 May, with its success coming largely at the expense of Starmer’s party.

At the same time, the Green leader is under pressure to improve the party’s vetting process amid reports of past inflammatory comments made by candidates. Chris Kennedy withdrew as the Green candidate in the Makerfield by-election after describing an attack on ambulances run by a north London Jewish charity as a “false flag”. He was replaced by local councillor Sarah Wakefield.

Tony Dyer, the Green deputy mayor in the West of England, last week admitted to PoliticsHome that his party’s vetting process “needs improvement”.