The Government Needs To Act About The University Places Crisis

I'm a strong believer in the value of education. And that means an excellent education or everybody. Under no circumstances should economic circumstances mean that an individual cannot pursue the educational route that they want to pursue.

If we are going to emerge from this terrible recession in a stronger and more competitive state, education will be the key. In a global economy that places such a premium on skills, a highly educated workforce will be pivotal to economic success. Which is why I find it so distressing that the Government has decided that now is the time to cut back on Higher Education.

Because of Government cuts, there will be nowhere near enough university places for applicants this year. When the A-Level results come out, thousands of young people with good grades will find that they cannot have a place in their university of choice. Estimates of this shortfall of applicaants to places range from 30,000 to 130,000. That is up to 130,000 young people who will be unable to complete their educational aspirations.

At a time when Government should be doing all that it can to prevent the creation of 'lost generation' of young people, all the Government seem willing to do is look for 'headline grabbing initiatives. Given that UCAS has been warning of been warning for months about this problem, it is shameful that more has not been done to deal with the impending crisis.