NUJ backs the Save Quality Journalism Education campaign
The NUJ is supporting the NCTJ’s campaign opposing planned cuts to journalism course funding in higher education.
In May, Bridget Phillipson, secretary of state for education, wrote to the Office for Students (OfS) informing of the department’s decision to withdraw Strategic Priorities Grant funding from journalism courses for the 2025-26 financial year.
The National Council for the Training of Journalists and the NUJ have been vocal in their condemnation of the move, with concerns this will have a detrimental impact on pathways into journalism and threaten the diversity and sustainability of quality journalism education. The union believes the UK government is sending a damning message by withdrawing funding and we’re asking NUJ members to support this campaign, to put pressure on decision makers to reverse planned cuts.
The NUJ has written to the education minister with concerns, and has requested a meeting with Laura Davison, NUJ general secretary.
The NCTJ also wrote to Phillipson in a joint letter with the Association for Journalism Education (AJE UK), the Broadcast Journalism Training Council (BJTC), the Media, Communication and Cultural Studies Association (MeCCSA), and the Professional Publishers Association (PPA), waring the decision threatens the future of UK journalism.
Read the response from government, including notice that further reforms are expected in this Summer’s Post-16 Education and Skills Strategy White paper. Government states it is "committed to supporting the invaluable role which journalism plays in the fabric of our society" yet it appears no reconsideration of cuts is planned.
Key facts
- The Journalists at Work 2024 report found that 81 per cent of journalists hold a journalism qualification, 83% of whom have an NCTJ qualification, with 84 per cent saying it helped secure their first job.
- The NCTJ supports multiple pathways into journalism, including pioneering apprenticeships and supporting further education routes, which are already under financial pressure. However, higher education remains crucial – 71 per cent of NCTJ diploma graduates studied at universities.
Write to your MP
Write to your MP using our simple tool and template letter to raise the NCTJ and NUJ’s concerns about the impact of proposals. Help us highlight the threats to the future health of journalism in the UK, at a time where credible, trusted journalism is needed more than ever.
Letter from Bridget Phillipson, secretary of state, to the Office for Students.