来源：《卫报》
原文刊登日期：2021年5月6日
Learning to think about what is beautiful, and why, is one of the purposes of education. Such lessons are not only learned via the arts: sports, science and maths too provide opportunities for aesthetic appreciation. But the facility of creative expression through dance, music, theatre and visual arts is part of what it means to be human, and has been since the earliest cave paintings. Though the sector contributed £112bn to the economy in 2018, it is the conviction that the arts are of fundamental importance to civilisation, more than a wish to promote the businesses that monetise these talents, that provokes the reaction against plans to cut funding to arts courses at English universities.
学习思考什么是美，为什么美，是教育的目的之一。这些课程不仅仅能通过艺术来学习：体育、科学和数学也提供了欣赏美的机会。但是，通过舞蹈、音乐、戏剧和视觉艺术进行创造性表达的能力是人类的一部分，从最早的洞穴绘画开始就是如此。尽管该行业在2018年为英国经济贡献了1120亿英镑，是人们坚信艺术对文明具有根本重要性的信念，而不是扶植将艺术天赋货币化的企业的愿望，激起了人们对削减英国大学艺术课程资金的计划的反应。
The plans stem from a consultation by the Office for Students (OfS), a government agency, and the education secretary, Gavin Williamson. The funding that is being reduced is part of the overall teaching budget of £1.47bn; the cuts appear designed to offset increases in other areas. For an individual student on one of the affected courses, it would fall from £243 to £121.50. On Wednesday, the University for the Creative Arts announced the closure of its campus in Kent, while the Musicians’ Union has warned of widespread “catastrophic” effects.
这些计划源于政府机构学生办公室（OfS）和教育部长加文•威廉姆森的磋商。被削减的经费是14.7亿英镑教学总预算的一部分；削减似乎是为了抵消其他领域支出的增长。人均艺术课程经费将从243英镑降至121.50英镑。周三，创意艺术大学宣布关闭位于肯特郡(Kent)的校园，而音乐家联盟则警告称，这会带来广泛的“灾难性”影响。
Arguably more important than the actual cuts is the signal that the government is sending: unlike science, maths, engineering, technology and nursing, the arts are not a strategic priority. The letter to the OfS from Mr Williamson pointed to “further reductions in future years”. No wonder artists and musicians are protesting loudly.
可以说，比实际削减更重要的是政府发出的信号：与科学、数学、工程、技术和护理不同，艺术不是战略重点。威廉姆森先生写给OfS的信指出“未来几年将进一步削减”。难怪艺术家和音乐家都在大声抗议。
They are right to. Encouraging more young people to train as nurses is a good idea. Discouraging them from learning to sing, paint or dance is wrong. The government says that there will be extra funding for “world-leading” specialist providers of such an education. Yet the arts and culture sectors are already damaged by a lack of diversity. The government is promoting the idea that higher education in these areas is worthwhile only for an exceptional few. It is also sending the wrong message to all the artists, cultural organisations and businesses that contribute such a huge amount to the social and economic life of this country – at a time when many of them have never needed support more.
他们抗议是对的。鼓励更多的年轻人接受护理培训是个好主意。但阻止他们学习唱歌、画画或跳舞是不对的。政府表示，将会为艺术教育的“世界领先”专业提供商提供额外的资金。然而，艺术和文化部门已经因缺乏多样性而受损。政府倡导的理念是，艺术高等教育只对极少数人有价值。它还向所有为这个国家的社会和经济生活做出如此巨大贡献的艺术家、文化组织和企业发出了错误的信息——尤其是现在他们当中的许多人需要支持的时候。