University and College Union joint general secretary Paul Mackney slams government’s privatisation plans for higher and further education

The government’s higher and further education policy has been slated by the joint general secretary of the University and College Union (UCU).

Paul Mackney branded the Department for Education and Skills the Fag Packet Institute and warned of the dangers of privatisation.

Speaking at the UCU’s annual congress in Bournemouth, he said: “We need a reassertion of the public sector ethic rather than relentless privatisation.

“We don’t need training outfits run by spivs who wouldn’t recognise an educational argument if it were spray-painted on their company cars.

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“For all the talk about evidence-based policy making, what we are seeing is policy-making grounded in amnesia from the back of the Fag Packet Institute.”