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Scottish Higher Education

EDM number 1578 in 1993-94, proposed by Michael Connarty on 17/10/1994.

That this House notes that student numbers at Scottish universities expanded rapidly throughout the 1980s and up until 1992 and that more than 35 per cent. of young people in Scotland now enter higher education, while plans announced by the Scottish Office in December 1993 indicate that this level of participation will be consolidated and held for the next three years; deplores the fact that this expansion has been achieved without a corresponding increase of resources to the sector and that further savings are being sought to further reduce resources per student over the next three planning years; is concerned that severe resource constraints have already undermined the quality of the educational process within the sector as the ratio of students to staff has increased dramatically leading to reduced opportunities for staff to develop new or existing courses and to introduce innovative teaching methods, damaged research and resulted in a backlog of building maintenance problems, posing risks to health and safety, and that library services to students have deteriorated; recognises that higher education has a vital role to play in developing individuals and regenerating the Scottish economy and so must be at the forefront of developing the leading edge skills required to match the best in Europe and the rest of the world; notes the funding plans for the higher education sector for the next three years which were announced by the Scottish Higher Education Funding Council in December 1993 do not allow for the maintenance of a quality system and leave no scope to repair the damage which has already been done to teaching, research, support services and the physical infrastructure of higher education; and calls on the Government to embark on a concerted long-term investment in higher education in conjunction with a strategic approach to the regeneration of the Scottish economy and to the creation of opportunities of access to quality higher education for everyone who wishes and is able to benefit from it.

This motion has been signed by a total of 24 MPs.

MPDateConstituencyPartyType
Michael Connarty17/10/1994Falkirk EastProposed
Ernie Ross18/10/1994Dundee WestSigned
Lynne Jones18/10/1994Birmingham, Selly OakSigned
Calum MacDonald18/10/1994Na h-Eileanan an IarSigned
John McAllion18/10/1994Dundee EastSigned
William McKelvey18/10/1994Kilmarnock & LoudounSigned
Ian Davidson18/10/1994Glasgow, GovanSigned
Jimmy Dunnachie18/10/1994Glasgow, PollokSigned
Norman Godman18/10/1994Greenock and Port GlasgowSigned
Harry Barnes18/10/1994North East DerbyshireSigned
Gordon Prentice19/10/1994PendleSigned
Jack Thompson20/10/1994WansbeckSigned
Tony Banks20/10/1994Newham North WestSigned
Jeremy Corbyn21/10/1994Islington NorthSigned
Mike Watson24/10/1994Glasgow CentralSigned
Alan Simpson25/10/1994Nottingham SouthSigned
Robert Hughes25/10/1994Aberdeen NorthSigned
Bill Michie25/10/1994Sheffield, HeeleySigned
James Callaghan25/10/1994Heywood & MiddletonSigned
Martyn Jones26/10/1994Clwyd South WestSigned
Michael Clapham26/10/1994Barnsley West & PenistoneSigned
Tommy Graham26/10/1994Renfrew West and InverclydeSigned
Ken Livingstone27/10/1994Brent EastSigned
Mike Hall27/10/1994Warrington SouthSigned

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