Theresa May announces review into funding of university courses

Theresa May today attacked snobbery among parents who think technical education is for “other people’s children” as she launched a new review into higher education.

She said “old fashioned” attitudes were pushing some pupils to undertake degree courses when they would thrive better in an apprenticeship or other form of vocational learning.

“I’m afraid for some people they think that technical education is the sort of thing that happens to other people’s children and not their own,” she told ITV’s This Morning. It came ahead of a speech in which she will launch a sweeping review of university funding and post-18 training.

The Prime Minister said there was too much “stigma” attached to technical qualifications among some parents: “We have got to break this old-fashioned attitude that there is only one way through in education. We have got to say what’s right for every child.”

Earlier, she met sixth-form pupils at Featherstone High School, Southall, where she ducked a question on whether she would reinstate maintenance grants if the review recommended it. “Let’s not pre-empt what the review is going to do,” she said.

One former Tory education secretary warned that cutting student fees for arts courses would risk deterring poorer students from science and technology courses. Nicky Morgan said Britain would “suffer” if the brightest talents did not take degrees needed to power the economy in future.

The review will include looking at whether some BA degrees should be made cheaper to reflect lower earning potential. But Ms Morgan said: “We want everybody to feel all careers are open to them. If those struggling to afford university in the first place feel they cannot do a Stem [Science Technology Engineering and Maths] degree because it is too expensive, ultimately it is the country that will suffer.”

Ms Morgan, who chairs the Commons treasury committee, added there was a strong case for overpriced universities being pressed to vary their fees rather than all charging the £9,250 maximum, saying the system had not produced the competition expected.

But a blanket cut in fees, proposed by Labour, would turn universities into a “political football” with student numbers squeezed by other priorities.

Writing in today’s Standard, Lord Mandelson warned significant cutbacks could be imposed on universities if the funding formula is changed. The former Labour cabinet minister questioned the need for the review, arguing fees had safeguarded university finances and led to more students from poorer backgrounds getting degrees.

“Theresa May is thinking short-term politics not long-term strategy,” he wrote. Mrs May is calling for better value for students in England, admitting they face “one of the most expensive systems of university tuition in the world”. She will task the review with ending “outdated attitudes” that favour university over technical education. For most courses, she will say, “the level of fees charged do not relate to the cost or quality of the course”.

The Department for Education said: “Graduates do not pay back anything until they are earning over £21,000 — rising to £25,000 from April.”