The quote from Nietzsche on the “task of higher education”strikes rather too close to home in Britain. Michael Ostuska (Philosophy, University College London) writes:

“Nietzsche’s is a depressingly accurate description of the task of higher education in Blairite Britain. In response to pressure from government ministers and civil servants, PhD students at one fairly well-known British University are now duty-bound to keep a ‘Graduate School Research Student Log’ which is obsessively devoted to the ‘self-audit’ of their ‘development of appropriate skills’. At the end of each year PhD students are supposed to describe and ‘where possible, provide evidence for’ their level of development of skills such as the following:

‘Record Keeping: ability to keep accurate and comprehensive records in a systematic fashion which demonstrate academic purpose and probity’

‘Time management: ability to schedule multiple personal and research specific tasks within a designated work period and monitor progress’

‘Team work: ability to work in co-operative partnerships with supervisors, team leaders, peers and support staff, ability to contribute towards the achievement of common goals’

‘Personal communication: ability to converse effectively with individuals, to appreciate their viewpoint and to act appropriately, ability to give and receive constructive feedback’

‘Career planning, CV development: ability to take effective ownership for your career progression by setting realistic and achievable goals and to demonstrate awareness of the transferable nature of research skills to other work environments’”