South Carolina’s first-in-the-South Republican primary may no longer be first in the South or even a primary next year thanks to money troubles. GOP Gov. Nikki Haley is expected to veto a budget proposal that provides state funding for the primary, the State reports. The move could force the party…
Continue reading …Gabrielle Giffords laughed, chatted with people around her, and even rose from her wheelchair to hug husband Mark Kelly during her first public appearance before a crowd since she was shot in the head nearly six months ago. Hundreds of people gave the congresswoman a standing ovation when she arrived…
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Higher education white paper paves way for 85,000 university places to be opened up to competition Universities will compete against each other for a quarter of the students they recruit next year under government reforms unveiled on Tuesday, putting pressure on institutions to bring down fees. English universities will be granted the power to recruit unlimited numbers of the best-performing students. At present, universities have a fixed number of government-funded places for home undergraduates each autumn and are fined if they over-recruit. This limits competition between universities and denies some students their first choice. A competition based on strength of student demand and the pricing of courses will put pressure on institutions to bring down fees or focus sharply on improving quality. The higher education white paper allows institutions to expand to take on more students who achieve grades AAB or higher at A-level. The government estimates this will cover about 65,000 students next year. The shakeup also proposes creating a “flexible margin” of 20,000 places which can only be taken up by universities charging an average fee of £7,500 or less. Universities will compete for these places and the government says it will consult on the criteria for this competition. The combined effect of these changes will be to remove about 85,000 places – about one in four of the 350,000 new undergraduates – from universities’ central allocation and open them up to competition. This is likely to squeeze middle-ranking institutions that charge high fees as they will be unable to attract the best-performing applicants and also lose places overall. The universities minister, David Willetts, said the proportion would increase each year from 2012: “We tried in the first year to get the balance right between opening up the system without imposing too much turbulence. We want to go further every year.” Willetts said there would be “pressure for quality and value for money” on universities. The white paper allows employers or charities to sponsor extra places outside the government quota system. The government says these must have “fair access for all students applying, regardless of ability to pay” and rules out the possibility of individuals being able to sponsor extra places. The government is looking at extending the role of the Office for Fair Access (Offa), the watchdog which monitors university access for under-represented groups. Offa may get powers to instruct a university to spend more on access from its fee income and publish assessments universities that are failing to make sufficient progress against their access agreement. Ministers claim the package of reforms will give students more choice over where they study and strengthen their right as consumers to “get their money’s worth” from universities charging higher fees. Under the reforms, universities will be required to publish comparable information for prospective students on teaching hours and quality. Ministers are asking for the publication of detailed information about the employment and earning outcomes of specific degrees in order to name and shame courses that are not valued by employers. The government wants teenagers to have better information when choosing A-levels by asking universities to publish the qualifications of previously successful applicants. The Russell group, for example, favours traditional subjects: maths, English, geography, history, the three pure sciences and languages. Higher education University funding David Willetts Students Education policy Student finance Jeevan Vasagar Jessica Shepherd guardian.co.uk
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PM urges workers planning to strike on Thursday to stop and reconsider arguments about public sector pension reforms Public sector pensions cost every household £1,000 a year, David Cameron claimed as he made a detailed appeal to unions to accept the government’s proposals and back away from strike action. The prime minister said he believed there were “misconceptions” amongst those planning to strike on Thursday, urging them to stop and reconsider the arguments. He warned that the pensions system was “in danger of going broke” if reforms were not made. “Of course, in a democracy people can go out and protest,” Cameron told the Local Government Association conference in Birmingham. “But the people marching should know what they’re objecting to, and I believe there are some misconceptions flying around.” Concerns about the impact of Thursday’s strikes were raised when it emerged that the UK Border Agency has written to airlines suggesting they might encourage people to choose another day to fly amid concerns about the impact of immigration staff taking strike action at Heathrow and other major airports. The cabinet met and discussed contingency plans on Tuesday as the number of schools estimated to be closed on Thursday grew. In comments that unions said were an attempt to drive a wedge between private and public sector workers, Cameron said: “The taxpayer currently contributes over two-thirds of the costs of maintaining public sector pensions. That’s the equivalent of £1,000 a household. That figure is only expected to rise. “Is that a fair? I don’t believe it is, especially when people in the private sector are seeing the value of their own pensions falling, their own pension age rise and when, according to the Office for National Statistics, the average gross pay in the public sector is now higher than in the private sector. So we need to rebalance the system.” In a speech almost entirely focused on the pensions issue, but notable for its non-confrontational language, he argued: • That reforms are essential as people live longer and the bill for public sector pensions rises. “The reason we can’t go on as we are is because as the baby-boomers retire – and thankfully live longer – the pension system is in danger of going broke … in the 1970s, when a civil servant retired at 60, they could expect to claim a pension for around 20 years,” he said. “Today, when they retire at 60, they can expect to claim a pension for nearly 30 years – about a 50% increase on before.” • That the system of paying for public sector pensions needs to be rebalanced to make it fairer on the taxpayer. But he also argued that the reforms would be fair for public sector workers, protecting their defined benefits, albeit under a pension scheme with payouts based on career averages instead of final salaries. Accrued rights would also be protected, and the lowest paid protected from contributions increases. “Your pre-reform entitlements are being fully protected,” he said. “What you have earned you will keep. Fact. That’s why I can look you in the eye and say public service pensions will remain among the very best – much better, indeed, than for many private sector workers.” • He argued that the career-average scheme was fairer for low paid workers, who are no longer expected to subsidise the final salary schemes of those who jump to the highest salaries before retirement. “This is not about saving money. It’s about doing what’s right and fair by you,” he said. • Refusing to act now would store up a problem in the future that in five, 10 or 15 years would become unaffordable, he said. • He concluded with a direct appeal to those planning to strike on Thursday, saying: “To those considering strike action at a time when discussions are ongoing, I would say to you: these strikes are wrong – for you, for the people you serve, for the good of the country. It’s the changes we propose that are right. Right for the long term. Right by the taxpayer. And, most crucially of all, right by you.” David Cameron Local government Trade unions Public sector cuts Public services policy Public finance Public sector pay Public sector pensions Polly Curtis guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …A German “cannibal killer” who admitted eating the flesh of one of his two teenage victims has been sentenced to life in prison. The killer, 26, confessed to licking blood from the wound of a 13-year-old girl he murdered and eating her flesh. He has lured her to the woods…
Continue reading …Another political hoax has hit the Internet. An “American gay rights activist” talks on a YouTube video of his disgust to learn that organizations arranging a flotilla to bust the Israeli blockade of Gaza aid are apparently homophobic. “Mother Teresa with a Keffiyeh!” grumbles the man who identifies himself as…
Continue reading …The Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity is facing a $25 million lawsuit over the alcohol-related hazing death of a member. George Desdunes, 19 years old and already a full-fledged member of the frat, had his hands and feet bound in a mock kidnapping ritual and was forced to drink alcohol until…
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As Blue Peter waves goodbye to the BBC’s west London studios and departs for Salford, we look back at more than half a century of presenters, animals and stickyback plastic
Continue reading …As Blue Peter waves goodbye to the BBC’s west London studios and departs for Salford, we look back at more than half a century of presenters, animals and stickyback plastic
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