Memorandum 101
Submission from the Shap Working Party
on World Religions in Education
Regarding: the Government's decision to phase
out support given to institutions for students taking second qualifications
of an equivalent or lower level (ELQs) to their first qualifications.
SUMMARY OF
MAIN POINTS
The Shap Working Party believes that there are
likely to be unintended consequences to the proposals contained
in both the Minister of State's letter to the HEFC of 7 September
2007, and in the HEFC's document "Consultation on implementation",
also of September 2007. This memorandum details the problems and
suggests mitigating action.
1. What is the Shap Working Party on World
Religions in Education:
2. The Shap Working Party is an NGO, which
supports and facilitates the development of teaching about the
World's Religions in schools and other educational settings, including
higher education (http://www.shapworkingparty.org.uk/index.html).
The Working Party includes leading national figures in the field
of religions and education from different educational sectors.
3. The Shap Working Party was formed in
1969 after a conference of academics, educationalists, local authority
officers and representatives of religions at which it was decided
to work towards replacing a quasi-confessional Christian approach
to the teaching of religious education in county schools with
an accurate but sympathetic study of religion, particularly those
religious traditions that were making a home in the UK for the
first time.
4. Shap now produces an annual calendar
of dates of religious festivals, and offers advice and consultancy
services to a range of educational, commercial and governmental
organisations on matters of religious and cultural diversity.
5. Factual information we would like the
committee to be aware of:
6. The proposals under consideration will
limit opportunities for the general public to study religions
at an advanced level. An educated understanding of religions contributes
to community cohesion in British society (a view that has been
endorsed by Government, see the Prime Minister's statement on
Terrorism to the House of Commons on 14 November 2007). Concomitantly,
any measure that might limit the possibility to study religions
by mature students will have a negative effect in relation to
community cohesion.
7. There appear to be a number of discrimination
issues that result from the government's inclusion of "Islamic
Studies" among the "strategically important and vulnerable
subjects" (SIVS) that are to be exempted from the withdrawal
of funding under the ELQ proposals.
(a) A reason that often leads mature students
to undertake academic study of their own religious tradition is
a wish to serve an enhanced role within their religious communities
as ministers, teachers or other religious or social functionaries.
It is discriminatory to support this in relation to one religious
community but to deny it to others. Further, there are good reasons
to support those wishing to take more active roles in faith communities,
given the contribution these make to civil society
(b) Members of all religious communities
can be subject to distress resulting from discrimination, prejudice
and offensive misunderstanding of their religious traditions.
To the extent that adults who are not members of the religious
communities concerned undertake serious study of those religious
traditions, the situation is ameliorated. To grant such relief
to one community, but not to others, is surely discriminatory.
(c) Conversely, the inclusion of Islamic
Studies within the SIVS suggests that there is something particularly
problematic about Muslims in British society, an implication that
could easily be avoided by extending the exemption to all other
religious traditions.
8. There is a specific issue in relation
to the recruitment of teachers, particularly teachers of religious
education. A significant number of new teachers of religious education
are people whose first degree is not in religious studies or theology.
Some of these entrants to teaching need to take sub M level certificate,
diploma or first degree courses prior to undertaking teacher training,
as a means to move from another subject area to religious education.
In other words, many of the courses taken by would-be new entrants
to the teaching profession are, necessarily, not teacher training
courses (which are of course exempted from the ELQ proposals).
Whilst our particular concern is religious education, the same
is true for other subjects.
9. The point made in the previous paragraph
can be widened. Many people take first degree, and post-graduate
qualifications, in subjects which are of considerable importance
to the maintenance of a highly educated, and cultured national
population—eg classics, ancient history, philosophy—but
for which there is no obvious career path outside of higher education.
Most graduates of such courses need subsequently to train for
careers, and there will often be little prospect of such training
being funded by employers. In addition, it is often the case that
people opt in wholly good faith for careers for which they prove
subsequently to be either unsuitable, or unable to sustain throughout
a full career. Such people deserve the support of Government in
their subsequent efforts to find employment commensurate with
their talents and which will enable them to make a full contribution
towards the needs of society for skilled workers. A sad, but unfortunately
common, example of this is those who train to be school-teachers
but who find themselves either unable to cope in a classroom environment,
or, later in their careers, unable to cope with the stress of
such a highly demanding job. These teachers, and others in similar
circumstances, need to find other work, often after, or in an
effort to preempt, medical difficulties.
10. The Open University is an excellent
provider of appropriate preliminary courses for those who wish
to train to be teachers of religious education. In 2002, the Shap
Working Party presented its annual award to the OU for its excellence
in providing courses in the study of religions (http://www.shapworkingparty.org.uk/award.html).
The Shap Working Party would be extremely concerned if the new
policy inadvertently deterred new recruits to institutions such
as the Open University who offer sub-Masters courses in the study
of religions to adult students. More broadly, the creation and
development of the Open University is undoubtedly one of the great
achievements of post-war education policy. It is particularly
to be admired for the way it has opened the possibility of University
Education to many who are unable to attend other institutions.
It further performs an invaluable role in pioneering new types
of courses and in developing effective teaching methods for distance
learning. It deserves particular protection from a measure that
might seriously undermine the nationally important work it does.
11. Recommendations we would like the committee
to consider:
12. Exempt all courses on the study of religions
from the withdrawal of funding support for ELQ courses. The reason
for this being that it would be a measure that will both promote
community cohesion, and dispel the current appearance of discrimination
between Islam and other religious traditions.
13. Exempt from the withdrawal of funding
support ELQ courses that are likely to be vehicles of flexibility
in the workforce, particularly in relation to those needing to
change careers as a result either of a lack of employment opportunities
in the area of their current qualifications or those who for reasons
of unsuitability or medical concerns are unable to continue in
employment for which they are currently qualified.
14. Give the most careful consideration
to the likely consequences for specific institutions of the withdrawal
of funds for ELQ courses, in particular the Open University, and
make recommendations for the amelioration of those that are damaging.
January 2008
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