Labour has accused the government of “attacking the aspirations of young people” with its plans to limit access to university degrees in England based on what students might earn years after graduation.
As revealed by the Guardian, Rishi Sunak will announce proposals on Monday to curb the numbers enrolling on so-called “low value” courses on the basis of data about each course’s graduate employment and dropout rates.
Sunak’s plans will require the Office for Students – the higher education regulator for England – to “ensure that courses which fail to deliver good earnings are subject to stricter controls”, according to the announcement.
The prime minister will also announce significant funding cuts to many foundation-year university courses, which are popular among mature students and those from disadvantaged backgrounds who lack academic qualifications.
Bridget Phillipson, the shadow education secretary, said: “This is simply an attack on the aspirations of young people and their families by a government that wants to reinforce the class ceiling, not smash it.
“The Conservatives’ appalling record on apprenticeships means it can’t be trusted to deliver the overhaul that our young people need, and the new role for the Office for Students will be to put up fresh barriers to opportunity in areas with fewer graduate jobs.
“Labour will enable our young people to seize the opportunities of the future through our reforms of the skills system and higher education funding – your background will be no barrier to getting on under a Labour government.”
Sunak will say: “Too many young people are being sold a false dream and end up doing a poor-quality course at the taxpayers’ expense that doesn’t offer the prospect of a decent job at the end of it.
“That is why we are taking action to crack down on rip-off university courses, while boosting skills training and apprenticeships provision.”
However, the government also confirmed it would not bring in minimum exam requirements for school leavers going to university, after a consultation. “Responses to the consultation suggested a minimum eligibility requirement would likely have disproportionate impact on some groups,” it said.
Rachel Hewitt, chief executive of the MillionPlus group of modern universities, welcomed the dropping of minimum entry requirements, saying their use would have “flown in the face of social justice”.
Hewitt said her members, including the universities of Bolton and Sunderland, rejected limiting student numbers based on employment data.
“It does not capture the full range of graduate employment patterns, including in sectors such as the creative industries, nor does it accommodate regional pay disparities.
“It also takes no account of the non-monetary benefits of higher education and the family background of graduates. Equally important, it ignores the fact that the salaries of teachers, and the many socially valuable graduate professions in the NHS and the public sector, are limited by the budgets provided by central government.”
Many foundation-year courses will have tuition fees cut by 38%, from £9,250 to £5,760. While subjects such as medicine and veterinary sciences will be exempt, the government argues that “too many people are encouraged to take a foundation year in some subjects like business where it is not necessary”.
The Foundation Year Network membership body described the move as “a massive blow” to social mobility that would affect potential students from disadvantaged backgrounds.
“We are dismayed that the government has taken no account of the many foundation years that provide the specialised, tailored support that enables thousands of mature, nontraditional and multi-disadvantaged students every year to thrive and succeed at university, in a way that no other route can,” a spokesperson for the network said.
