When last year’s letter about teaching grants was released immediately before Christmas, Universities Minister David Willetts MP, then Shadow Education and Skills Secretary, accused the government of “hoping to smuggle this announcement out at Christmas when no-one will notice.”
The statement also reserves the fines, criticised by Willetts last year, for universities that over-recruit meaning that it is likely that we will see a repeat of the 2010 chaos as hundreds of thousands of qualified applicants missed out on university places.
The announcement means that University budgets are being slashed for successive years leaving students with a poorer experience and risking staff jobs.
Aaron Porter, NUS President, said:
“Last year David Willetts was right to attack the Government for sneaking out an announcement that affected the lives of thousands of people studying and working in universities but his decision to try the same trick, with the same policies, this year is further proof that students are being treated with contempt by every corner of this Government.
"These fines will see hundreds of thousands of highly qualified students, who we should be investing in to secure our economic recovery, missing out on places and being left between a hostile jobs market and tripled tuition fees if they dare to reapply.
“Students and their families are not prepared or willing to pay more for less, yet these cuts will in combination with a tripling of fees look set to damage the student experience. University heads must make sure that that experience is protected by cutting costs without cutting contact time or staff/student ratios.”