Universities 'block' hard-up students

Students are enraged by plans to charge more

The attitudes of universities are a "big barrier" to widening access to poorer students and a regulator is needed to force them to change, the education secretary has said.

Days before formally announcing a funding shake-up that will allow universities to charge higher tuition fees, Charles Clarke warned they would lose that power if they did not accept "dramatic changes" to admissions procedures.

A big barrier to university entry to students from poorer backgrounds is too often the attitudes and approach of the universities themselves

Charles Clarke
Education Secretary

His comments, in Saturday's Eastern Daily Press newspaper, based in Norwich, came ahead of the publication next week of a higher education white paper.

Leaks have indicated it will herald the end of up-front tuition fees, currently £1,100 a year, and their replacement by charges of up to £3,000 a year payable after graduation.

But Mr Clarke said the freedom to vary those charges would be linked to reform.

He said: "A big barrier to university entry to students from poorer backgrounds is too often the attitudes and approach of the universities themselves."

He said that, in advance of the funding review that had fed next week's white paper, many vice-chancellors told him they had not attracted enough less well-off students.

Talented individuals

To tackle this, an independent regulator will be appointed to make sure universities follow new procedures and regulations governing admissions.

"This will mean they will need to prove that they are actively applying admissions and student recruitment procedures which positively seek out talented individuals from poorer backgrounds," Mr Clarke wrote.

"Their progress will be subject to rigorous controls.

"Breaking the agreement will result in serious financial implications which could go as far as withdrawing the right to set variable fees."

Students face higher debts

It is expected the new regulations would allow universities like Oxford and Cambridge to charge higher fees than less prestigious institutions.

This has sparked concern that it will lead to a 'two-tier' higher education system.

More than 180 Labour backbenchers have signed a motion condemning all top-up fees.

Universities also have grave concerns about a "time lag" between the scrapping of up-front tuition fees and the fruition of the new system.

It is not clear how the deferred payment system would address the issue of university under-funding, which is what prompted the review.

Cabinet 'rift'

Students, who have campaigned against tuition fees and top-up fees, are against a repayment scheme which pays off a specific student debt.

The Times newspaper said Tony Blair had to intervene to cut a deal after heated disagreements on the issue between Chancellor Gordon Brown and the education secretary, Charles Clarke.

Mr Brown is said to have favoured a graduate tax, rather than a debt repayment scheme, because it would be directly linked to income.

But it was the Chancellor who insisted on the strong emphasis on access, with a regulator monitoring stringent admissions targets, the paper adds.