Memorandum 29

 

Submission from the Education Sub-Committee of the

Geological Society of London.

 

 

 

 

1. The Geological Society of London is concerned about the proposal to remove funding altogether for Earth science students studying for Equivalent or Lower Qualifications (ELQs).

 

2. The Earth sciences are central to many aspects of modern life, including:

 

a) sustainable development and extraction of resources;

b) meeting increased energy demands;

c) developing a fuller understanding of the causes and effects of climate change;

d) protection and development of groundwater resources;

e) understanding and planning for new housing and transport development; and

f) dealing with waste disposal e.g. nuclear waste.

 

3. Earth science has a low visibility in relation to other sciences (e.g. Physics, Chemistry), and is declining as a subject in Secondary schools. The country currently only produces about 1,000 Earth science graduates per year, and the number of universities offering undergraduate degree courses has declined by over 30% in the past 20 years with an accompanying reduction in the number of applicants. There is a large demand for Earth science graduates in many areas that is not being satisfied and the inexorable rise in commodity prices and environmental issues will ensure that this demand will continue to increase. There are already serious resulting skills shortages in key areas such as hydrogeology, geophysics, resource extraction, engineering geology and environmental geoscience that are unlikely to be met in the short term by increased undergraduate recruitment and graduate numbers.

 

4. The low visibility of Earth science in schools means that interest in this subject is often kindled later in life. An increasing number of people who are already qualified in another field wish to re-train as Earth scientists. They will be discouraged by the removal of funding for ELQs and the nation will be denied the benefits of their accumulated skills. This is a small, but increasingly important, problem to most universities. It is, however, an extremely important one in institutions such as the Open University and Birkbeck College, where considerable numbers are retrained to provide enhancement and re-direction of the nation's skills-base.

 

5. The Society urges those concerned in the debate to review the proposal to remove ELQ funding from future Earth science students, since this would potentially damage both their future prospects and those of the UK economy.