Whilst my arm is in its current state, I have had some time to watch TV and read the newspapers, which have been focussing on the tuition fees debates and protests. I have been both a student and a university tutor in philosophy, and have been wondering why the perspective from the teaching staff is absent from this debate. Some teaching staff at universities has shown their support for students, and I hope that the UCU were consulted at some stage before the fees were raised. But generally speaking, I have read little in the newspapers from the perspective of tutors or lecturers.
I was a tutor at a Philosophy Department from 2003 – 2006. It is incredibly enjoyable work, not incredibly well paid, and as much as more money is always welcome, this is the kind of job you do for love not money. However, the class size per year was about 120; each tutor would see about 25 students, lecture sizes could be 60+. There were times when I felt that there simply was not enough time to give each student the time they deserved, unless I worked 3 times longer than I was being paid for, which I did gladly. This was not a problem for me, but some institutions are not comfortable with people working pro bono, and rightfully so, people should be paid a little more, if as nothing other than a recognition that they did extra work. I hope but doubt that PM Cameron’s fees hike will solve this problem; it is merely filling an already existing gap.
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