Higher Education has been a horrible issue for the Coalition since day one. It has left both parties stuck in the mud and lots of supporters who previously followed the Lib Dems have since left due to the change in values they appeared to have before the election and this after.
The news of the HE bill being dropped caused a stir when it hit the headlines this week. Rumours circulated that the bill would in fact be dropped. However, after talks, it appears that the idea is not to delay the process until later in Parliament rather than scrap it.
The news however does need to be looked at with care due to the fact that for something so big like this to be dropped could create an immense amount of trouble for the Coalition and both parties later on in Parliament, something than neither want to do. It would be billed as a ‘U-turn’ and will unavoidably make its way in to the Government’s political capital.
David Willets, Minister of Universities and Higher Education, is closely linked to the plans and backing down now will cause him real political damage in his future political career.
The idea from Clegg and Cameron was to offer the idea of American companies to come to the UK to provide private university education.
It was designed to make it easier for education firms to set up in Britain by introducing more competition, together with the tough regulation of universities in order to help drive down the cost for students whilst increasing standards too. State loans, through companies such as Student Finance UK, would have been offered to those attending the new private colleges.
Under-performing universities would effectively have been allowed to go bankrupt and be replaced by more successful institutions. However, it is understood that the Prime Minister is unwilling to embark on radical reform of another public service while facing battles on the reorganisation of the NHS, schools and welfare. So instead it appears that he has not scrapped the idea but in fact delayed till possibly the 2013 publishing.
The idea behind the plans can still go ahead even after recent news. Nobody can stop major businesses from setting up campuses and delivering courses in Britain if they are backed by Government. It wasn’t a feasible idea in the past because Governments made grants to public universities and thus forced private providers out of the market.
£9,000 fees at public universities now make the UK a more hospitable environment for overseas and private providers. I think the suggestion has been that the State will offer up to £6,000 for students to go private, they can make up the rest themselves.
It doesn’t take a genius to see that these off-shore companies could in fact wipe out the public universities in Britain and create competition that they never thought they’d have.
So don’t get the Champagne bottles out just yet all you prospective university students, the bill has not been scrapped yet but there is hope for you. If the Government decide to delay the bill for at least another year or possibly more, you’ll miss out on paying the £9,000 fees saving money for everyone!
Sophie Davis
Tags: coalition, david cameron, higher education, liberal democrats, loans, money, nick clegg, students, university, university fees
Higher Education bill could be delayed