The news that AC Grayling is to set up a private university for the humanities is fascinating for many reasons. The sales pitch, which was swallowed in its entirety by the mainstream media yesterday, is that a group of world leading academics are getting together to establish a rival to Oxbridge universities, with degrees validated by the University of London. The catch is that it comes with an £18,000 price tag.
Some further analysis will mean this initiative is rather controversial for a number of reasons.
High fees of £18,000 per year, with bursaries available for only 20% of students, have already triggered
an angry response from students and staff at the University of London, who have arranged an emergency meeting to oppose the scheme. Since degrees will be validated by UL, students at NCH will have access to facilities, such as libraries, students union and halls of residence, from the big brother university. Which is fine, except that UL can only charge £9,000 and will receive public funding for the rest.
So in effect, NCH will benefit from public funding for their initiative, despite being a private university which can by-pass the fee caps and other requirements of a public academic institution. For example, they will not be subject to the inspection of the
Office for Fair Access, the quango which monitors the measures which higher education institutions take to ensure universities make admissions fair.
This aspect has not yet been picked up on by the mainstream media, and it will seem unjust to many that this private profit making organisation can be allowed to make its money off the back of a publicly funded university. And as a registered charity, it will benefit from the tax breaks that charitable status provides, whilst the CEO of the Trust uses his experience from the venture capital industry to grow the enterprise.
Some have already spotted that aspects of this runs counter to the public pronouncements of AC Grayling, who has previously opposed fees, arguing that "University education should be provided free of charge to all those suitably qualified for it, as a national investment that goes far beyond its benefit to the offices and factories of the land."
But Mouse would be more generous. He has also argued that higher education has been chronically underfunded for decades, and he can only act within the limits of the system as it is.
Yet in all the coverage of this that appeared over the weekend, there is a word which has not yet been used by any of the mainstream media about this whole affair.
Atheism.
You see, the list of people involved in this reads like a who's who of new atheist grandees. AC Grayling and Richard Dawkins need no introduction, and figures such as Laurance Krass, Steven Pinker, Peter Singer and Steve Jones are all well known atheists, as well as academic titans in their own fields. Perhaps the most intriguing individual involved is Roy Brown, former International Humanist and Ethical Union President, who will serve as a non-executive director. He appears to have no background in education.
And the structure of education seems designed to ensure their world view is driven home to their students.
Whilst studying the humanities, with degrees available in Law, Economics, Philosophy and English Literature, students will be compelled to take mandatory courses in Critical Thinking, Logic, Scientific Literacy and Ethics.
AC Grayling has long argued that critical thinking should be a core component in the humanities. And he has been equally clear that his version of critical thinking is a way of overcoming "religious fundamentalism".
The line being given by whoever is running the College's twitter account is that education is about teaching people to think rather than teaching them what to think. Yet Grayling's views on religion are absolutely clear. And he believes that critical thinking, logic and science are ways of stamping out the illogical scourge of religion.
New College for Humanities make clear on their website that their courses are open to anyone with the ability to participate. This ability includes access to £18,000 per annum, plus living expenses. But Mouse wants to ensure adequate safeguards are in place for this institution to ensure there is no anti-religious discrimination.
Dr Evan Harris
wrote in the Guardian last week arguing that additional legal safeguards should be in place to ensure religious organisations do not discriminate when they take over public service contracts. Mouse thinks this news shows that safeguards should be in place when groups of atheists set up private universities.
Since they consider religiosity to be the product of a feeble mind and a lack of critical thinking, it seems difficult to imagine how they would consider the CV of a religious professor seriously when looking to fill teaching roles. And how would they respond to a student candidate in an interview who professed a deep belief in the death and resurrection of Jesus, when asked about how they formed their ethical views.
Of course, they would be acting illegally if either of these situations affected their decisions on employment or admissions. Since they are establishing a private university, it is bound under the Equalities Act to provide equality in the provision of goods and services.
Yet the reason the OFFA was set up in the first place is because it is so hard to identify instances of direct and indirect discrimination in university admissions. It will be pretty much impossible to monitor whether this is the case or not.
In the college's promotional material Grayling even states that he would waive the college's minimum academic requirements for admission if they 'like the cut of someone's jib' and 'think we can make something of them'.
Since they are not under the jurisdiction of the OFFA, no-one will be monitoring who they give places to.
This new institution is likely to generate much publicity in the coming months and years. And one aspect that should be front and centre is whether these archbishops of atheism are using it to promote a generation of elite atheists to succeed them.
