Support our Nation today - please donate here
News

Welsh higher education funding body to be dissolved and new ‘national steward’ role created

01 Nov 2021 3 minute read
Jeremy Miles, Wales’ Education Minister. Picture by the Welsh Government

Wales’ body for funding higher education will be dissolved and a new ‘national steward’ appointed to oversee post-16 education, the Education Minister has announced.

The Higher Education Funding Council for Wales (HEFCW) will be brought to an end and a new Commission for Tertiary Education and Research established in its stead.

The Welsh Government said that the current arrangements for organising higher education in Wales have been in place for 30 years, before big increases in student numbers, devolution and major changes in technology, and that reform was needed.

The change described as “radical” by the government would mark the first time in Wales’ history that all elements of post-16 education – including colleges, universities, adult education, apprenticeships and sixth forms – would come under the one body.

The new Commission will monitor, register and regulate providers, and set out the standards expected within the sector – including Welsh medium provision.

Jeremy Miles, the Minister for Education and the Welsh language, said that supporting post-16 education sector to face the future “has never been more important”.

“Much of the way in which we support and organise post-16 education has been in place for decades,” he said.

“We need to grasp this opportunity for change, so that we empower our education providers to be part of a diverse, agile and collaborative sector that delivers for learners throughout their lives, as well as for employers and communities.

“This Bill gives us the tools to do that. In establishing the Commission, this bill gives Wales a new national steward for tertiary education and research, with the interest of learners at its heart.”

Duties

As well as proposing the establishment of the new Commission, the Tertiary Education and Research (Wales) Bill – to be introduced at the Senedd today – establishes nine national strategic duties.

These legal duties reflect the Government’s long-term vision for the sector and will guide the Commission’s future work, the Education Minister said.

The nine strategic duties are:

  • Promoting life-long learning;
  • Promoting equality of opportunity;
  • Encouraging participation in tertiary education;
  • Promoting continuous improvement in tertiary education and research;
  • Promoting collaboration and coherence in tertiary education and research;
  • Contributing to a sustainable and innovative economy;
  • Promoting tertiary education through the medium of Welsh;
  • Promoting a civic mission;
  • Promoting a global outlook.

The Education Minister Jeremy Miles said the new body will take a “system-wide view, supporting learners throughout their lives with the knowledge and skills to succeed”.

“It will help secure independent and diverse institutions that will make significant contributions to national wellbeing and prosperity,” he said.

“For the first time in Welsh legislation, we set out what we believe, what we want and what we need from a successful and prosperous post-16 education and research sector.

“The nine national strategic duties for the Commission embody that vision and provide the long-term strategic framework for what this vital and varied sector needs to deliver – as we recover, renew and reform.”


Support our Nation today

For the price of a cup of coffee a month you can help us create an independent, not-for-profit, national news service for the people of Wales, by the people of Wales.

Subscribe
Notify of
guest
4 Comments
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Richard
Richard
2 years ago

Da iawn 👍🏼 Great thinking and i hope it works. This is the sort of ‘ out of the box ‘ thinking we need.

We need a system
fit for a modern Wales – educstion 2 employmemt pathways and this helps ( i hope)

MS’s need to keep their eyes on this and support evidinced based initiatives

these post dev quangos have passed their sell buy date.

hdavies15
hdavies15
2 years ago
Reply to  Richard

Great stuff … as long as the same old suspects don’t turn up in key, well paid positions in the new organisation. Cynical, suspicious ? Yes, based on a lifetime of exposure to this sort of “innovation” !

Richard
Richard
2 years ago
Reply to  hdavies15

Agreed 👍🏼

Steve George
Steve George
2 years ago

Ah! More long-term strategic goals. We’re absolute world leaders in long-term strategic thinking. If only we could first fix the holes in the roof. Still, if ever we do, we’ll no doubt have the most innovative, avant garde, ‘future-proofed’ roofs in the world. (I mean, they’ll probably be upside down but a masterclass in strategic thinking fit for a world turned on its head!)

Our Supporters

All information provided to Nation.Cymru will be handled sensitively and within the boundaries of the Data Protection Act 2018.