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Weak UK universities should shut

Tue, 28 Apr 2009
According to a report from the Policy Exchange think tank, struggling universities in the UK should be allowed to close or taken over by the private sector.

Universities in the UK receive over £8 billion in government money; however are not liable to be closed if they fail or underperform. Anna Fazackerley, head of the Policy Exchange think tank was reported as saying this means "universities are unable to learn lessons from failure".

According to the think tank, the "no-fail culture" creates no real competition in the higher education sector. With the current economic situation, universities should be maximising efficiency, especially given the pressure on funding from the government.

Students from overseas and the UK are seeing tuition fees rise; rising by over 300% in some cases since 2002. Students believe the level of debt involved should be curbed, with many coming out of university with debts in excess of £25,000.

The report was entitled Sink or Swim? Facing up to failing universities.