University Degrees of Higher Worth - vis-à-vis Sunak

Abstract

The RT Hon Rishi Sunak MP, the first of his kind in the history of the UK, as a minority and from immigrant parents, announced in the same week that his government pushed through the Anti-immigration bill that he will restrict Universities from running courses which are in his vision of ‘low worth’. This created unrest among the academic circles, who either took to Twitter to report how they have personally gained and also gainfully contributed to society with the 'lower worth' higher qualifications. There was also the band of social scientists who described how this elitist view is designed to reduce the access to students from multiple deprivation backgrounds to courses such as arts, humanities, and philosophy which are truly then reserved for those from the top of the socio-economic food chain. This argument or viewpoint is not new and nor will it be the last time that such a debate is had in society. This debate about what knowledge or study is considered useful or gainful in society can be described in economic or utilitarian versus philosophical terms.