In an exclusive by The Guardian earlier this month, Education editor Richard Adams revealed that the
government will be handing over the management of the Turing student exchange scheme
to the outsourcing firm Capita, away from the British Council.
Capita has reportedly been appointed to complete the first year of the Turing scheme from April
2022 and run the second year of the scheme until December 2023. The British Council will
carry on overseeing the scheme until March 2022.
The British Council was allegedly undercut by the private firm in the bid for the contract. The tender
lists the contract as worth up to £7m, yet Capita is said to have bid well below the £7m
mark. Losing the contract will certainly be a financial blow for the British Council which has already
been greatly affected due to the pandemic, suffering from office closures and staff cuts
following COVID-19 restrictions.
For those not familiar with the Turing scheme, it was set up in 2020 to
replace the Erasmus student exchange scheme following the UK’s exit from the EU. The
scheme, named after the famous World War II code-breaker Alan Turing, is
the UK’s global programme to study and work abroad. The funding body is open to UK
organisations from across the education and training sectors and helps provide
opportunities for sending students abroad.
Outsourcing is risky move
According to the British Council, since the launch of the Turing scheme in February last year,
they have supported 41,024 participants, with 48% coming from disadvantaged
backgrounds.
The outsourcing of the scheme has not been viewed positively, with Labour MPs and unions
criticising the government’s decision, seeing it as a risky move.
Labour universities’ spokesperson Matt Western has emphasised the Capita’s history of
‘mismanaged contracts’ and claims that the plan ‘to farm out’ the Turing scheme to the
private firm ‘risks selling students short.’
Jo Grady, the general secretary of the University and College Union, has not looked kindly
on the move, stating that it is ‘a terrible decision from the DfE [Department of Education],
which will further diminish the quality of student exchange programmes.’
Grady said: ‘The British Council has important expertise in the running of student exchanges,
and cutting them out of the process in favour of a profit-making private company is
shameful.’
‘Inevitably go down’
The outsourcing of the Turing exchange scheme has also fallen flat with students. One
student currently studying at the University of Birmingham is concerned about Capita taking
the reins of the scheme due to their ‘inexperience in managing student-specific matters.’
The student also said: ‘Capita is very much a profit-making business so I fear that the costs to participate in a year abroad will go up whilst the organisation and management of
connections will inevitably go down.’
Another student unhappy with the government’s decision said: ‘Studying abroad, although
hugely exciting, can be a daunting experience for students. The British Council have
supported students for 80 years and it is difficult to see how the transition to a different,
private enterprise will be smooth. I feel sorry for students wanting to travel abroad in the
next few years as they are likely to experience added disruption during what is already a
period of uncertainty and change.’
What is your opinion on the outsourcing of the Turing scheme to Capita? Do you think
that the government made a beneficial decision for students or do you think the
scheme should have stayed with the British Council?