June 24th 2009. In a speech to the Royal Society of Arts, Higher Education Minister David Lammy pledged his support for arts and humanities as study subjects in the UK.
The speech came after recent concern over the Ministers decision to ring fence funding for science and technology at higher education level. A decision, which the critics say, has been damaging to the promotion of arts and humanities.
“The Government has tried hard to encourage higher education in the arts and humanities as part of an overall commitment to promoting excellence in higher education,” claimed the Minister.
“Education in the arts and humanities, no less than in the sciences, is among the main factors that defines British culture and British identity in the 21st century. That it is an indispensable component of the glue that holds the country together and without which we cannot truly flourish,” said Lammy.
He went on to say, “There’s no doubt that the need for graduate level skills, whether in the sciences or the social sciences, or the arts and humanities has risen over the years, and will rise further as our businesses increasingly try to compete in a high tech, high value market world.”
To read David Lammy’s complete speech, click here.