Having looked at the higher education bill, l was concerned to see that there is a caveat surrounding free speech.
What is meant by ‘academic freedom’?
Academic freedom was established in law in 1988. Section 202 of the Education Reform Act 1988 gave academic staff the right “to question and test received wisdom, and to put forward new ideas and controversial or unpopular opinions, without placing themselves in jeopardy of losing their jobs or the privileges they may have at their institutions.”
Academic freedom is one of the public interest governance principles which all higher education providers registered with the Office for Students (the higher education regulator in England) must comply with.
The Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Bill would add the caveat that academic freedom exists only within an academic’s “field of expertise”.
Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Bill: Progress of the Bill - House of Commons Library (parliament.uk) I find the third paragraph very disturbing , How will this promote wider discussion and debate for problem resolving if you are if you are limiting peoples freedom to just their field of expertise?. Again we are seeing an elitist approach to stifling other social orders from being able to express their opinions within the academic setting . Academic freedoms are being taken away and popped into neat boxes, however just as in the real word the academic world is flexible and fluid not staid. All education is cross curriculum and everyone is able to bring their expertise that is how a nation grows and this should definitely not be limited to one certain area. How can you limit the freedom of speech to just the 'field expertise ?'
Freedom of Speech - Higher education Bill Caveat.
Having looked at the higher education bill, l was concerned to see that there is a caveat surrounding free speech.
What is meant by ‘academic freedom’?
Academic freedom was established in law in 1988. Section 202 of the Education Reform Act 1988 gave academic staff the right “to question and test received wisdom, and to put forward new ideas and controversial or unpopular opinions, without placing themselves in jeopardy of losing their jobs or the privileges they may have at their institutions.”
Academic freedom is one of the public interest governance principles which all higher education providers registered with the Office for Students (the higher education regulator in England) must comply with.
The Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Bill would add the caveat that academic freedom exists only within an academic’s “field of expertise”.
Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Bill: Progress of the Bill - House of Commons Library (parliament.uk)I find the third paragraph very disturbing , How will this promote wider discussion and debate for problem resolving if you are if you are limiting peoples freedom to just their field of expertise?. Again we are seeing an elitist approach to stifling other social orders from being able to express their opinions within the academic setting . Academic freedoms are being taken away and popped into neat boxes, however just as in the real word the academic world is flexible and fluid not staid. All education is cross curriculum and everyone is able to bring their expertise that is how a nation grows and this should definitely not be limited to one certain area.
How can you limit the freedom of speech to just the 'field expertise ?'