A huge step forward was taken for protecting free speech in our
universities as Professor Arif Ahmed has been appointed as the
new Director overseeing free speech at the Office for Students.
While there are already statutory duties on universities to
protect free speech - our newly passed Freedom of Speech Act will
ensure that universities promote this fundamental value.
The appointment of Professor Ahmed as the new Director follows
the Higher
Education (Freedom of Speech) Bill successfully becoming law
on 11 May. The historic legislation will establish a new free
speech complaints system, while also strengthening the legal
duties on higher education providers in England to protect and
promote freedom of speech on campuses up and down the country,
for students, staff and visiting speakers.
Minister for Children, Families and Wellbeing said:
We’re making history with the Freedom of Speech Act, ensuring
that fear does not undermine the rights of students and academics
to debate controversial ideas and securing the right to an open
exchange of ideas in universities.
The new Director for Freedom of Speech and Academic Freedom will
sit on the board of the Office for Students, with responsibility
for investigations of breaches of the new freedom of speech
duties, including a new complaints scheme for students, staff and
visiting speakers who have suffered loss due to a breach.
Director for Freedom of Speech and Academic Freedom Professor
Ahmed said:
Free speech and academic freedom are vital to the core purpose of
universities and colleges. They are not partisan values. They are
also fundamental to our civilization.
As Director, I will defend them using all means available. I feel
tremendously honoured and fortunate to have been appointed.
The Prime Minister recently stressed the importance of Freedom of
Speech on campuses saying:
A free society requires free debate. We should all be encouraged
to engage respectfully with the ideas of others.
University should be an environment where debate is supported,
not stifled.
A tolerant society is one which allows us to understand those we
disagree with, and nowhere is that more important than within our
great universities.
The Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act 2023 delivers on the
Government’s commitment to strengthen academic freedom and free
speech in higher education, helping to protect the reputation of
our universities as centres of academic freedom.
Registered higher education providers in England will have
extended legal duties not only to take steps to secure freedom of
speech and academic freedom, but also to promote these important
values. Students’ unions will also be held to the same legal
responsibilities as universities and their colleges to take
reasonably practicable steps to ensure lawful freedom of speech.
Higher education providers and students’ unions that fail to
comply may face sanctions, including fines.
