King’s speech: Criticism of universities ‘beyond belief’

It is “beyond belief” that the King’s speech at the state opening of the United Kingdom Parliament included a criticism of the quality of some courses at UK universities, a former adviser to three universities ministers has said, writes Chris Parr for Research Professional News.

Delivering his first such address, which sets out the government’s legislative plans for the coming parliamentary session, King Charles said ministers would look to reduce the number of students on courses deemed to be substandard.

Diana Beech, chief executive of the London Higher group of institutions and a former adviser to three Conservative ministers, criticised the government for using the occasion to attack universities. “On an occasion when the UK pulls out all the stops to impress the world with tradition and pageantry, it is beyond belief that the UK government would even contemplate asking His Majesty the King to speak negatively of the national asset that is our world-leading higher education and research sector,” she said.
Full report on the Research Professional News site.