“We need a radical overhaul of higher education in Wales so institutions see their primary function as serving Wales and its students".
Unlike me, do you consider yourself part of 'the establishment' here in Wales? As thousands gather for the Eisteddfod in Mold this morning, they will, according to some social commentators, not be participating in the greatest cultural festivals of Europe. Instead, they will merely be bit-part players in one of the annual gatherings of the great and good of Wales. Unkindly, this set of the movers and shakers in Welsh society is known as 'the crachach' , and constitute a social class all of their own, dominating the educational, cultural and media sectors of Wales and allegedly looking down upon any outsider with new ideas, reinforcing mediocrity and failing to see beyond the limits of their own narrow experience. They are said to live in a comfort zone that awaits the expected invitation to the next glass of chilled chardonnay and canapés, forgetting that due to their lack of leadership and drive, Wales remains firmly rooted to the bottom of the UK prosperity league ...
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As the top universities in England head down the road of privately funded elite institutions ours can look forward to a future of responding to political whims; after all, such involvement has done so much for our schools.
If Welsh HE is to reflect the needs of Wales (read that as "desires of WAG") then SMEs can walk away from the party, this event is for major employers and the CBI only...