The Independent Review of Higher Education Funding and Student Finance was launched on the 9th November 2009. The review is tasked with making recommendations to Government on the future of fees policy and financial support for full and part-time undergraduate and postgraduate students.
Steve Brine, who is the Prospective Conservative MP for the new Winchester & Chandler’s Ford constituency says; “The Conservatives are open minded on this issue and await the outcome of the review. Given that we have been calling for the student finance review to begin for two years, it would be wrong to pre-empt its results or to bind the hands of the review team just as they are starting their work by pledging ourselves to a predetermined result. The review should take evidence from, and value, the student voice so I am pleased the NUS are engaging with the process.
“I know my colleagues in Parliament pressed the Government – successfully – to ensure the review has wide terms of reference. In particular, we insisted the review should consider the quality of education students get for the fees they pay, financial support for students from disadvantaged backgrounds, and a fairer deal for part-time students.
“We don’t believe in artificial targets for numbers of students. Instead we believe everyone with the aptitude and desire to study at a higher level should have the opportunity to do so. The Government’s target of 50 per cent of young people going in to higher education is arbitrary, suspiciously round and only focuses on younger people, rather than learners of all ages. Moreover, the target will be missed: it was originally set for 2010 yet the proportion of young people going to university – currently 43 per cent – has barely changed in recent years and Ministers are now threatening large fines for universities that over-recruit this year. This is an extraordinary example of universities being fined for delivering a Government target!”
Steve said the Conservatives in opposition have been putting forward practical proposals to tackle the urgent problems facing students and potential students. “We believe prospective students need to be better informed about benefits and costs not just of Higher Education in general but particular types of courses at particular types of university. I think there needs to be a big increase in the quality of the information, advice and guidance on offer so that people are better informed when making options about higher education. We are already working with Microsoft on a new social mobility website that would provide such information.
“Secondly, this year, far more qualified applicants than usual were unable to find a place at university, because of a mini baby boom in the early 1990s and the recession. These pressures will be repeated next year unless we take action and that is why we recently promised an additional 10,000 university places in 2010/11 alongside all the other commitments in the Get Britain Working programme. These places will be funded by a new incentive to encourage the early repayment of student loans, as already occurs in other countries. This policy has been welcomed by the NUS and nearly all of the higher education sector. We remain the only party with a clear plan for tackling next year’s problems.”
Steve said also that he and the party had been pressing the Government hard on the delay in grants and loans to students caused by the problems at the Student Loans Company. Tens of thousands of students, especially new students and disabled students, are still waiting for the right payments to be made to them. He said a recent Opposition Day debate on this issue in the House of Commons had forced the Government to concede an independent review of the crisis. “We are keeping the pressure on them until the problems are resolved,” he added.
Finally Steve said; “The Liberal Democrats are sadly not supporting the student finance review because, as ever, they prefer to play politics and keep their options open to mislead students ahead of an election next year. We have already seen locally some dreadful lies about our apparent plans to implement £7,000 a-year fees if elected next year which is sad and I would love to think we can raise the level of debate here in Winchester for the benefit of local parents and students.
“Although the Liberal Democrat party claims to wish to abolish fees, and was campaigning for such at this year’s Winchester University Fresher’s Fair, this was downgraded to an uncosted aspiration at their recent party conference. What’s more, in the Times Higher Educational Supplement in September 2008, their higher education spokesman, Stephen Williams, described their policy of opposing all fees as unsustainable. Their words on abolishing fees can have no credibility until they explain how they would pay for any changes and why they are opposing the independent review that both major parties and almost all the key players in higher education value.”
More information …
- You can find out more detail on the independent review and register to be kept up-to-date by email via http://hereview.independent.gov.uk/hereview
- Send Steve your views by email [email protected]