Last updated 01/06/2006
SCHOOLS
Blair faces further rebellion over Education Bill
The Guardian - 24/05/2006
The Government faces a further and potentially wider revolt from backbench rebels over its education reforms in another test of Tony Blair's authority over the parliamentary party.
More schools to have drugs tests
BBC News - 31/05/2006
Random drug testing of pupils is being introduced in secondary schools across Kent following the success of a pilot scheme in the county.
FURTHER EDUCATION
Colleges and firms 'must listen'
BBC News - 25/05/2006
Employers and colleges must understand each other's needs better to improve the quality of work training, MPs say.
HIGHER EDUCATION
EU student fee dodgers targeted
BBC News - 24/05/2006
The Government is moving to stop students from the rest of the EU attending an English university then disappearing without paying the fees.
Fellows share land sale bonus
THES - 26/05/2006
An Oxford University college has provoked controversy by awarding £10,000 each year for three years to each of its 39 senior academics as a result of a multimillion-pound land sale.
Law flouted on contract staff
THES - 26/05/2006
Short-term contracts are still "endemic" in universities despite new European laws designed to eradicate them, a nationwide survey has shown.
Lecturers back boycott of Israeli academics
The Guardian - 30/05/2006
Britain's largest lecturers' union yesterday voted in favour of a boycott of Israeli lecturers and academic institutions who do not publicly dissociate themselves from Israel's "apartheid policies".
'Law to be used' to stop Israeli university boycotts
The Guardian - 30/05/2006
An international lobby group formed last year after lecturers voted to boycott Israeli universities has vowed to oppose any renewed plans "through legal channels".
Pension fund punt could undermine UK universities
Financial Times - 30/05/2006
While universities have been in very public turmoil over the lecturers' pay dispute, another far more serious threat to academic finances has been incubating. Universities Superannuation Scheme, Britain's second largest pension fund after BT Group, has racked up a deficit of £6.6 billion and has assets to cover only just over three-quarters of its £28.3 billion liabilities.
Stake in spin-offs brings capital gains
THES - 26/05/2006
University spin-offs have generated at least £1.3 billion for UK plc in the past three years, more than twice the sum that the Government has invested in technology transfer in the same period.
Students complain, 'I've paid my money, I've got to get an upper second'
Sunday Telegraph - 28/05/2006
University students are demanding "value for money" and are increasingly prepared to complain if they are not awarded a good degree.
Third of final-year students visit GP
Daily Telegraph - 29/05/2006
One third of final-year degree students have visited their doctor and more than a fifth have sought help from a counsellor because of the stress of exams, according to a new survey.
Universities now face strike threat from cleaning staff
The Scotsman - 30/05/2006
Tens of thousands of university cleaners, porters and other support staff could strike unless a dispute over pay and hours is resolved, union leaders said yesterday. The "forgotten army" of 150,000 workers across the UK are involved in a similar pay row to university lecturers, who have been refusing to mark students' work as part of a campaign for a 23 per cent wage rise.
Universities warned against offering cash for places
The Guardian - 25/05/2006
A stern warning to universities in England not to offer last-minute discounts or larger bursaries to fill places was issued today by the Office for Fair Access.
University takes up decommissioning challenge
Financial Times - 29/05/2006
A university is to offer Britain's first course in dismantling nuclear power stations to take advantage of the billions pledged to clear up ageing nuclear facilities. The two-year foundation degree, run by the University of Central Lancashire and Lakes College, West Cumbria, will begin in September with some classes close to the Sellafield nuclear reprocessing plant.
LECTURERS' DISPUTE
Hopes rise of deal in lecturers' pay dispute after 'positive' talks
The Guardian - 24/05/2006
Hopes of a settlement in the long-running lecturers' pay dispute were raised after seven hours of emergency talks between university employers and unions ended last night; they will resume tomorrow.
Lecturers risk court action, says expert
Birmingham Post - 24/05/2006
Ian Marshall, head of Martineau Johnson's Employment Team, has warned that university lecturers risk ending up in court as a result of industrial action that continues to disrupt exams.
University employers apologise for misleading comments
The Guardian - 25/05/2006
University employers were yesterday forced to apologise "unreservedly" to a House of Commons committee for making misleading comments to the media after an inquiry last week. In an embarrassing development in the bitter lecturers' pay dispute, the Universities and Colleges Employers' Association was hauled back before the education select committee to explain its actions after last Wednesday's hearing. Ucea claimed in a press release that the committee was backing employers in the worsening pay battle.
Up to 100% of pay withheld
THES - 26/05/2006
Two out of five vice-chancellors are docking pay in a bid to force academics to abandon industrial action, a survey by The Times Higher suggests.
Lecturers in last-ditch attempt to reach pay deal
The Guardian - 30/05/2006
Striking lecturers and employers will resume pay negotiations with all unions involved in higher education in a last-ditch push today to resolve the university pay dispute.
Students plot revenge
The Guardian - 30/05/2006
Victims of the escalating war between lecturers and universities, undergraduates are beginning to fight back. Their weapon? Legal action.
Lecturers' salary offer increased
BBC News - 31/05/2006
Universities have increased their pay offer to lecturers in an effort to end the exam-marking boycott which threatens to disrupt graduations. The Universities and Colleges Employers' Association is proposing a rise of 13.1% over three years - up from its previous 12.6% deal.
