Office for Students faces judicial review over public funding for bible colleges | Office for Students
A UK university regulator has failed to investigate potential breaches of laws protecting academic freedom at a dozen seminaries and is now facing legal action, the Guardian has learned.
The National Secular Society says it is preparing to take action against the Office for Students (OfS) through the courts following complaints first made five years ago, arguing that colleges are not eligible for public funding or state-backed student loans because of their adherence to theological doctrine.
The association said 12 Bible or theology colleges had received more than £80 million in funding through the government-backed Student Loans Corporation and £1 million from the OfS since 2018.
The OfS said it was unable to comment due to ongoing legal action, but NSS chief executive Stephen Evans said his organization was disappointed that the OfS had refused to respond or take action despite numerous contacts and meetings with the regulator since 2021.
Evans said: “This is a case of the regulator not doing its job properly. These colleges do not appear to be consistent with OfS requirements for academic freedom and freedom of expression, which is why they should not have been registered in the first place.”
“The lack of transparency is striking. If institutions are based on enforcing a sectarian worldview rather than academic freedom, they should not be registered with the OfS or receive public funding.
“Since we raised this at the OfS, nothing seems to have been done about it as far as we can tell.”
Higher education providers in England must: Register with OfS They must have access to student loans and support freedom of expression and academic freedom.
The NSS has told the OfS it will seek a judicial review to establish what action it has taken against colleges; this includes the “university law,” which provides: “To promote the fear of Almighty God through education and dissemination of knowledge.” Another university’s code of conduct for students lists “extramarital sexual intercourse” as grounds for disciplinary action.
The legal action comes as the OfS awaits a major high court ruling on its investigation into the University of Sussex, after the OfS fined Sussex a record £585,000 for alleged regulatory breaches.
The NSS’s action is backed by Prof Chris Higgins, former vice-chancellor of Durham University, who said the complaint did not apply to theological colleges run by the Church of England and not registered with the OfS.
“From our perspective, the OfS made a mistake in registering these independent Bible colleges in the first place because their governing documents specifically restrict academic freedom and freedom of expression,” Higgins said.
“Most of these Bible colleges [also] We offer degrees that have nothing to do with ministry training, such as courses in business or performing arts. However, they still require students and staff to adhere to a collective statement of faith and practice; “This is something that was recently banned as indoctrination by the high court in relation to public worship in schools in Northern Ireland.”
Three colleges are mentioned in the NSS’s pre-action letter to the OfS: Moorlands College in Dorset; Regents Theological College, a training center of the Elim Pentecostal church in Malvern; and Christ the Redeemer College in Harrow.
The Rev. Michelle Nunn, principal of Regents Theological College, said: [The college] It aims to operate in accordance with UK equality and freedom of expression legislation and Student Office regulations. Students are admitted based on academic criteria and choose to study with us because our programs align with their academic and professional interests.
“We encourage vigorous intellectual inquiry and discussion in our classrooms and welcome respectful participation from diverse perspectives.”
Moorlands College and Christ the Redeemer College did not accept offers to respond after being contacted by the Guardian.
