12 Dec Higher education sector is spending tens of millions on diversity
A University professor has hit out after a report revealed the higher education sector is spending tens of millions on diversity.
Dr James Orr, Professor of Philosophy of Religion at the Faculty of Divinity at Cambridge University, told GB News: “This money is not only being wasted, it is actively undermining and damaging the institutions it’s being spent on.
“It would be better if it was being wasted. The money IS going towards irrelevant factors rather than rewarding merit and excellence. It’s wrong and it’s undermining some of the finest institutions in the world.
Mr Orr added: “That’s thirty million pounds that could be going towards staff salaries. Serious money is being spent in cash strapped times. This is serious money which is eventually going to have to be picked up by students. It’s also wasting a great deal of time. This is not what the taxpayer expects universities to be doing, and it’s preventing many universities from fulfilling their proper purposes.”
Mr Orr’s comments come days after new research showed universities are spending over £30m a year on 730 Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) Civil Service Roles and wasting over 30,000 staff days on “equality training”.
The research was carried out by Conservative Way Forward highlighting waste in government spending. CWF campaigns for lower taxes, a more efficient state and less politically motivated intervention in everyday life.
It revealed that Britain’s 175 taxpayer-subsidised universities and higher education organisations are spending approximately £30.5m a year on 730 roles that are “exclusively focused on issues of equality, diversity or inclusivity”.
The UK taxpayer pays a vast subsidy to UK universities, through both research funding and through student loans.
There are an average of four EDI officers per university, with a mean salary of £42,300 across the sector.
The University of Oxford employs the most EDI staff members with a total of 40 at a cost of £2.04m, the University of Liverpool employs 27 at a cost of over £1m, and the University of Bristol has 17 roles with combined salaries of over £750,000.
