University Applications down (Surprise Surprise)

Given the rise in tuition fees which takes effect for students starting university courses this year, it’s unsurprising to find figures that show there is a clear drop of around 10% in the number of English students applying for places.

Government officials are, as you’d expect, playing down these figures and instead reiterating that there is still a very strong demand for university, but the government could have kept demand for university high and could have avoided the fall in applications by, how can I put it., leaving the fees alone.

What is even more galling is that students studying in Wales will be subsidised and will pay no more than £3,290 and students in Scotland go scot free.

The government raised the fees in order to accommodate cuts in university spending and hoped it would mean most courses paid for themselves.

But if applications are down this could mean that courses won’t cover their own costs via fees, and the government might need to step in and bridge the gaps, which would result in another PR disaster for the coalition.

Either way this is clearly a complex issue that requires a delicate balancing act, but judging by the numbers early indications are that the government have picked the wrong way of dealing with it.