Time to research the researchers

PROFESSOR John Haldane's essay in this newspaper today, in which he calls for a fundamental reappraisal of the tendency for modern universities to concentrate on research at the expense of teaching, is a timely one.

His intervention comes at a time when higher education in Scotland is facing the prospect of a significant reduction in the funding it receives from the Scottish Government.

Prof Haldane argues that huge amounts of money put into research at universities, and the staff time it takes up, hinders the primary purpose of universities – ie, education. He adds that research in arts, humanities and social sciences is often "of dubious worth".

His case was last night disputed by fellow academics, who maintain that with investment in research in Scotland lower than many other countries, what is needed is more, not less funding.

But for this counter argument to be valid its advocates will have to prove that the research going on in Scotland – two-thirds of which is funded by the state through independent funding councils – is of use to the nation.

That there is a lot of very good research going on in Scotland is not in doubt, but with universities likely to face funding cuts – and the Scottish Government adamant that they will not address the problem through introducing "top-up" fees similar to those introduced in England – Prof Haldane deserves praise for raising this issue. We look forward to the debate.