ÁñÁ«ÊÓƵ

Mary Evans¡¯ review misses the point and importance of Joanna Williams¡¯ Consuming Higher Education: Why Learning Can¡¯t Be Bought (Books, 17 January).

While the Left and the students¡¯ unions have argued against university fees, they have applauded the emphasis of successive governments on the ¡°student experience¡± and the academy¡¯s role in social inclusion and employability. Williams reverses this: it is the redefinition of education as a means to these various non-educational ends that is the problem.

Handing over money to study is only a symptom of regarding education in instrumentalist terms - if it can be packaged up and ¡°delivered¡± as ¡°learning outcomes and experiences¡±, then why not marketise it?

We can buy an experience but, as Williams points out, while we might pay for a place at university, learning cannot be bought.

Jim Butcher, Canterbury Christ Church University