Founded as the London Mechanics’ Institute in 1823, Birkbeck – which since 1920 has been part of the University of London – belongs to a rich tradition of which Britain should be proud. Preceded by two years by the pioneering School of Arts of Edinburgh (now Heriot-Watt University), Birkbeck’s mission was to extend the Enlightenment to working people. Dr George Birkbeck gave lectures to craftspeople, but the new colleges were not limited to technical education. They also taught arts, science and philosophy. Birkbeck admitted women decades before the universities of Oxford and Cambridge.
That precious legacy is now in jeopardy. Citing financial pressures, the college’s bosses propose to cut up to a quarter of all teaching staff from departments including English and geography, plus up to a third of administrators. The pattern is being mirrored elsewhere. Universities that were committed to levelling up long before it became a Conservative soundbite have shut or shrunk courses that don’t fit the government’s narrowing agenda.
