That this House deeply regrets the refusal of the Secretary of State for Education and Science to give consideration to the application from the Derbyshire College of Higher Education for polytechnic status, when the college has recently won the right from the Council for National Academic Awards to award degrees for its own taught courses and had the clear prospect of first becoming a polytechnic and then a university; fails to comprehend why the Education Minister recently declared that he would not consider further applications from bodies which meets his earlier criteria in terms of student numbers, facilities and academic standards; and calls upon the Government to reverse this ludicrous decision, which will hamper the expansion of educational opportunity and damage the prospects for the local economy in Derbyshire.

That this House deeply regrets the refusal of the Secretary of State for Education and Science to give consideration to the application from the Derbyshire College of Higher Education for polytechnic status, when the college has recently won the right from the Council for National Academic Awards to award degrees...

That this House notes that Dr Peter Knight, the Director of Birmingham Polytechnic, chaired the employers' side in the recent negotiations with the National Association of Teachers in Further and Higher Education resulting in an agreed contract for academic staff at polytechnics and other institutions; also notes that Dr Knight failed to recommend this agreement to the Board of governors of Birmingham Polytechnic and produced his own version of a contract for academic staff at this polytechnic; is not surprised that the National Association of Teachers in Further and Higher Education has called for a national boycott of Birmingham Polytechnic in these circumstances; and urges the Board of Governors to arrange for urgent discussions with the trade union representatives of academic staff at Birmingham Polytechnic in an attempt to resolve this dispute in the interests of staff and students.

That this House notes that Dr Peter Knight, the Director of Birmingham Polytechnic, chaired the employers' side in the recent negotiations with the National Association of Teachers in Further and Higher Education resulting in an agreed contract for academic staff at polytechnics and other institutions; also notes that Dr Knight...