30/01/2009

The number of British university students is in decline for the first time after years of growth, raising fears that tuition fees may be deterring applications.

The fall in numbers puts government targets of getting half of young adults into higher education farther out of reach.

The recession is likely to exacerbate the situation, as the largest decrease was among part-time students, who face the biggest financial burden.

The student population has grown year on year for the past ten years. Yesterday, however, the Higher Education Statistics Agency released figures showing a reduction of almost 15,000 British undergraduates and postgraduates in 2007-08, compared with the previous academic year.

Top-up fees of £3,000 a year were introduced in 2006-07, and many students owe thousands of pounds in loans taken out to cover these and maintainance costs.

The drop in undergraduate numbers was particularly severe among part-time students, who are penalised financially by having to pay tuition fees up-front and are not entitled to the same grants and loans. Yet they form the backbone of the Government's attempts to expand higher education, in particular, among mature and working-class learners.

David Willetts, the Shadow Universities Secretary, said: “Part-time students are clearly being put off by the raw deal they get under this Government. This is the death knell of Labour's target of 50 per cent of young adults going on to higher education.”

While the number of full-time British undergraduates crept up by 1 per cent to just over one million, those from European Union countries rose by 9 per cent and other foreign students accounted for a 4 per cent increase. Part-time British undergraduate numbers fell last year by almost 20,000 - a 3 per cent decrease.

Bahram Bekhradnia, director of the Higher Education Policy Institute, said the figures could increase pressure on the Government to strike a better deal for part-time students in its next funding review.

Nicholas Barr, Professor of Public Economics at the London School of Economics, said the recession was likely to make the situation worse. “Part-time students are disadvantaged. They receive no loans and have no option but to support themselves. Jobs were already starting to dry up a year ago. Now it is much worse,” he said.

Professor Les Ebdon, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Bedfordshire and chairman of the university think-tank Million+, said: “Universities have warned ministers... that it was unfair to exclude part-time students from the loan and grant support package available to full-time students.”

David Lammy, the Higher Education Minister, insisted that the number of people entering higher education was at an “all-time high”

'Parents give me enough but I want to contribute'

Sophie Barton, 20, is studying classical music at the University of London. Originally from Liverpool, she is helped financially by her parents, but relies on her job in promotions for a soft drinks company to support herself.

She works about 12 hours a week and admits that she is in a fortunate position. “My parents give me enough to finance me, but I feel I should contribute,” she said. “If I didn't work I wouldn't have any extras and I don't want to graduate overdrawn. I work as a Red Bull girl and I can do my job when I want to, even in the middle of the night.”

Ms Barton graduates this year and admits that many of her peers are worried about finding jobs. “Most are planning to move back home with their parents,” she said.

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