Putting food on the table

November 24 was designated “stamp out casual contract day of action” by the University and College Union, which represents academic lecturers. An investigation by the Guardian revealed that, among universities, the 24 members of the prestigious Russell Group rely heavily on academics working on insecure contracts.

The Guardian has uncovered a world where significant numbers of academics work on precarious and parsimonious terms. Vice-chancellors might argue it is the only way to make ends meet: everyone in education, from nursery to university, is short of money.

Rationing is everywhere, and efficiency is today’s mantra. At school level, multi-academy trusts (MATs), which control chains of academies, boast economy of scale. It’s more efficient to have one superhead directing operations in a number of schools.