Nearly 13,000 people have signed a petition against plans to cut modern language grades at the University of Aberdeen, as the institution’s governing body meets to discuss the proposals amid a growing backlash.
Aberdeen last month launched a consultation on language provision after student numbers fell, with the closure of all individual and joint honors programs one of the options under consideration, leaving languages taught only as elective modules.
The petition, launched by academics at the university, says all options would include “an end to language research at Aberdeen and significant job losses”.
She adds that if they are allowed to go ahead, programs that have been in place for more than a century, including French, German, Gaelic and Spanish, will be “destroyed” and Aberdeen will remain the only legacy university in the world not offering language degrees.
“Removing language, translation and interpreting degrees could be a false economy because it would also have profound and long-term consequences on league table standings, the employment of joint honors students and equal access to education across the north of Scotland.” says the petition.
Last week, Aberdeen Senate voted in favor of a motion calling for consultations to be paused to allow more time to consider the academic impact of the proposed cuts. The University Court is scheduled to meet on December 12 to discuss whether to proceed with the matter.
The University and College Union (UCU) and the University of Aberdeen Students’ Association held a rally on the eve of the vote with UCU general secretary Joe Grady telling those present that the plans amounted to “academic sabotage”. It highlighted that Aberdeen was one of many institutions seeking to cut jobs and save services recently, with Oxford Brookes and Staffordshire Universities also announcing cost-saving measures last month.
“Teaching and research in modern languages is an integral part of the university,” Dr Grady said. “These plans could make Aberdeen the only legacy university in the UK not to offer modern language degrees, which says a lot about the management at the University of Aberdeen, and its lack of ambition for the university and the north-east of Scotland.
“We know from numerous interventions from European consulates, politicians, professional bodies, staff, senators and students that modern languages in Aberdeen are valued and that the staff who deliver this work should be invested in rather than face losing their jobs.”
Also addressing the gathering, Maggie Chapman, the Scottish MP for the North East, said she was “deeply concerned” by the proposals.
She added: “I think this sends completely the wrong message of what the comprehensive university for north-east Scotland should be.”
“The University of Aberdeen has a civic duty to the city and wider region to be an institution that covers all academic disciplines, provides truly rigorous and relevant degree programs for students from the region, and provides the next generation with the skills and tools that will be so essential as we try to deal with the global crises we face.”
Ms Chapman said staff had been given redundancy notices in the run-up to Christmas, and that university management should be “ashamed” of the way staff and students had been treated.
Aberdeen said its language provision was unsustainable and it was expected to make a loss of £1.5m in 2023-24.
27 full-time equivalent students have been appointed this academic year, down from 62 in 2021, while the university has 28 full-time equivalent members teaching the programmes.
A university spokesman said: “The university fully understands how passionate colleagues, students and many members of the wider public are about modern languages including Gaelic.”
They added that the university “has always made clear that it will continue to teach and value languages, and we are grateful to all those who send us their views and ideas on how to do this in a sustainable way.”
tom.williams@timeshighereducation.com
The decision by Aberdeen City Council to cut funding for modern language teaching in primary schools has sparked widespread backlash and criticism from parents, teachers, and language advocates. The move to eliminate language classes in the city’s primary schools has prompted concerns about the potential impact on students’ educational development and the importance of language learning in Scotland. As the opposition to these cuts continues to grow, the debate around the value of language education and its role in shaping future generations has taken center stage in Aberdeen.