Filling their coffers at students’ expense

UNTIL very recently, only a tiny minority of A- level students were given an ‘unconditional’ offer which guaranteed their university place whatever their grades. Little used outside Oxbridge, they were reserved for the academically brilliant.

But as with so many aspects of higher education – degree inflation for one – the system is now being grossly abused. In 2013, just 1 per cent of students had unconditional offers. now that figure is 23 per cent – an absurdly high proportion.

The reason is not difficult to ascertain. After the Tories abolished the cap on admissions in 2014 and put a £9,000 tuition fee bounty on every student’s head, vice chancellors became fixated on filling places regardless of horrendous drop-out rates.

For these glorified administrators, more students means more money – and a cosier chat with the remuneration committee when they demand a double digit pay rise.

Unsurprisingly, many pupils put their feet up once the offer is in the bag. After all, why bother to work when you don’t have to pass any exams? And could there be a greater incentive to relax rigour and discipline in teaching?

While there are many excellent degree courses, far too many students rack up huge debts on pointless subjects such as media studies, which raise unrealistic job expectations.