E-mail from Valerie Davey to the Chairman
of the Committee
COMMONWEALTH SCHOLARSHIPS
Greetings and very best wishes during what must
be `challenging times' at Westminster. This a pre-2005 voice (Val
Davey Bristol West), but having lost my seat then I have not lost
my interest and commitment.
One of the bodies I have remained linked to,
then as a parl. co-chair and now as the exec. chair, is the Council
for Education in the Commonwealth (CEC), www.cecomm.org.uk.
It was set up in 1959 by a group of MPs following the first meeting
of Commonwealth Ministers of Education in Oxford. Its membership
has widened since then, but it still has a parl. base with three
patrons in the Lords (Frank Judd, George Thomson, and we are at
present seeking a replacement for Linda Chalker) and three co-chairs
in the Commons (Tim Boswell. Sally Keeble and Simon Hughes). Its
remit remains very similar, to support/be advocates for the extension
of the range and quality of education across the Commonwealth.
You can imagine therefore that we were amongst
those dismayed to learn of the FCO decision, announced to the
House on 13th March, to cut the Commonwealth Scholarships and
Fellowships they fund in 2009 (£2.05 million annually) to
the eight developed countries, Australia, Bahamas, Brunei, Canada,
Cyprus, Malta, New Zealand and Singapore. In a series of answers
to written questions in the House, the FCO has failed to substantiate
the criticisms made in the statement, -- the selection. quality,
outcomes have all been excellent. It would appear the review referred
to applied to Chevening scholarships not Commonwealth scholarships.
My feeling is that officers in the FCO thought
this was an easy cut, take from the rich and give to the poor,
without a real concept of the nature of the Commonwealth (ie it
is more than an aid agency), failing to recognise the reciprocal
nature of the scholarships by which British students benefit,
and forgetting the contribution British universities make for
these exceptionally highly qualified students.
There are two ironies about the timing of this
announcement. Less than two years ago when the Canadian Government
proposed a similar cut we, the British Government and the Commonwealth
bodies, appealed to them and they relented, -- a fact which I
believe Gordon was reminded of by the Canadian Prime Minister
recently. Also next year is the 50th Anniversary of the establishment
of these scholarships, and there are plans by the Commonwealth
Education Ministers to celebrate by extending them.
As CEC members we have been working with representatives
from the UK Commonwealth Scholarship Commission and others to
ensure that well informed briefings are available to those who
may influence the Government It seems so awful that our credibility
and former standing within the Commonwealth on this issue should
be jeopardized now
I've been reluctant to approach you before now,
as Chair of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee, but I do hope
we can find a way out of this situation. I think the DIUS has
been approached by the universities. Would you consider a one
session hearing by the Committee into the nature—reasoning
behind—outcomes of the FCO decision? Would it be useful?
There is plenty of briefing material available, which I won't
trouble you with now!
Thank you for reading this long e-mail. I was
not sure how much you would already know.
16 June 2008
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