This article is more than 2 years old
Probably not looking for a coalition with Labour…
Education (including higher education) is devolved in Wales and Scotland, and Plaid Cymru – who played a part in the last Senedd administration – is understandably keen to play up what it achieved in government.
The Wales-specific aspects of the Plaid manifesto therefore need to be disentangled from wider Westminster priorities – the latter of which being ways in which it would influence a future UK government. There is a progressive, access-focused, spirit that underpins both.
The review of vocational qualifications that fed into the new tertiary regulation landscape has already had an influence in the gestation of Medr (formerly known as the Commission forTertiary Education and Research) – it came from the Labour/Plaid Co-operation Agreement. Likewise, the Seren Network (that helps the “brightest” sixth formers get to good universities) is very much a Cooperation Agreement plan, and there’s an understandable keenness to expand it to focus more on keeping Welsh students in Wales. And the Welsh Medium Action Plan (which aids the government in understanding the needs of Welsh-speaking higher education entrants) will receive more funding.
Plaid (as the end of the Labour-Plaid agreement suggests) was never a quiet or compliant partner to Labour. It made a lot of noise about the “crisis” in the higher education sector from a position that is pro-university, pro-access, and pro-civic mission. The manifesto offers a promise to expand numbers (of Welsh students in the Welsh system), at least in part via the recognition of prior learning. It is also a fan of LLE-like short courses.
The ambition is that university education should be free for all, but there is a recognition that this starts with a plan to make providers financially viable so this becomes “a genuine option”.
The wider offer on skills proposed a Lifetime Learning Allowance of similar size and scope to the one offered by the Liberal Democrats – personal learning accounts of £5,000 for the over 25, with added LLE-style loans for the over 18s to cover maintenance and more expensive courses at levels 4,5, and 6. In the first instance, this would be targeted towards those who have recently been made redundant – recognising that many of these people will be mature learners with other responsibilities there is a promise to examine options for blended learning, and a shift from a three-year full time degree to a mix of shorter part-time and vocational courses.
For students and apprenticeships there is a promise to address student poverty, at least in part via access to free travel and free meals.
Plaid wants an increased investment in research and development, with a particular emphasis on Wales’ share (it seeks a block grant based on population). There’s an aspiration to see greater European research collaboration, via pan-European collaborations like Horizon and via a return to the European Union.
On immigration, it wants to ensure the graduate route is retained, noting in particular pressures on Bangor and Aberystwyth (who I am sure are both delighted to be named). This also recognises these universities as major local employers.