The news this week that Higher Education Minister David Lammy has backed proposals that would see students completing 100 hours of community service as part of their degree surely offers us yet another candidate for the now sky-scraping scrap-heap of evidence that shows just how out of touch Labour’s politicians are. Supporting this scheme put forward by think-tank Demos is, in the words of tweenagers and ironical students everywhere, an Epic Fail on Lammy’s part.
Lammy’s posturing over the Demos report will doubtless rile students, as while the principle of instilling an altruistic sense of civic pride is no bad thing, mandating all students to complete 100 hours of community service is a smack in the face to many students, particularly at universities like Manchester, who already devote far more than 100 hours over the course of their degree to voluntary work, fundraising, extra-curricular activities, campaigning or (as is increasingly the case) working part-time to fund their education. Yes, university students in this country are by default some of the most privileged in the world, but that this privilege should be tempered by enforced community service is wildly insulting. The insinuation of the Demos report is that students do precious little to contribute to society; a false assumption on two counts, one in that it is grossly patronising and assumes students are merely twiddling their thumbs between lectures, and secondly because, as Lammy’s own government have often stressed, a qualified (i.e. university educated) workforce benefits society in the long run too.
Lammy has even gone so far as to recommend that the proposed “national civic service” find its way into the Labour manifesto. However given that a spokesperson for the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has declined to comment on the scheme, we can only assume that a sharp ticking off from a Malcolm Tucker figure is on the cards for feckless Lammy.
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