Oxford and Cambridge colleges have won a temporary reprieve over the future of millions of pounds in extra government grants.

There will be no change next year in arrangements which give them £35 million extra to sustain their tutorial system of education, often one-to-one.

The cash, which amounts to an extra £1,700 per student, could even be increased to account for inflation.

Cash works out around £1,700 per student

However, the reprieve is likely to last only until the Millennium when a new system of centralised grants which could herald cuts in future years is likely to be introduced.

The deal represents a partial victory for a heavyweight Oxbridge lobbying campaign which included Lord Jenkins of Hillhead, the chancellor of Oxford University, and which was aimed at Prime Minister, Tony Blair.

Education ministers, including Secretary of State David Blunkett and Higher Education Minister Tessa Blackstone, are believed to have wanted to tie future funding to pledges to take more state school students.

At present, extra funds go direct to Oxbridge colleges as part of each mandatory local authority student grant.

The fees are used to pay for their libraries and tutorial support, which is often one-to-one. From 1999/2000, it is expected, the fees would be phased out and would be replaced by an unspecified amount of money going direct to the universities.

Blunkett: "more state students, more cash"

The universities would also join other universities in bidding for money from a new scheme set up by the Higher Education Funding Council in recognition of teaching quality and the cost of maintaining historic buildings.

Ministers ordered a review of college fees after Lord Dearing pointed to the disparity with the rest of higher education.

Oxford and Cambridge mounted a vigorous campaign against any change, arguing that it could drive some smaller colleges out of existence.

It was intensified after Chancellor Gordon Brown linked the review directly to the issue of access.

He told last year's Labour conference: "When half of (Oxbridge) places still go to private schools it is time to extend opportunity by re-distributing resources."

According to commentators, the colleges will be relieved at being given a year's grace. But they will argue that channelling money to the universities still puts the expensive tutorial system of teaching at risk.

In future, each college might have to compete for a share of money which it presently receives automatically.

And incorporating the cash in overall university grants could make it more vulnerable to future Government cuts.

Shadow education spokesman Baroness Blatch said: "The pill may have been sweetened by delaying implementation.

"But any pretence that this is not the abolition of college fees is not acceptable. The future of the tutorial system which lies at the heart of what makes Oxford and Cambridge so successful must be at risk.

"And in the long term, the future of some of the smaller colleges must be at risk too. To suggest that they can all make this money up from other sources is nonsense."
 

Back to top | BBC News Home | BBC Homepage	©