Student numbers 'plummet by 57,000' as fees soar

(U.K) The number of students preparing to start university has plummeted by almost 57,000 this year amid a backlash over rising tuition fees, it emerged today.

Figures show a 12 per cent drop in acceptances onto degree courses this summer compared with the same point in 2011 – far higher than initial forecasts suggested.

The decline is quickest in England where undergraduates face paying the highest fees, with numbers down by 14 per cent year-on-year.

In Scotland, where home students are given free tuition, the number of acceptances has actually increased by two per cent, it was revealed.

The disclosure comes 24 hours after the Telegraph revealed that Britain’s top universities were still advertising places just days before degree courses are due to start.
It prompted claims from lecturers’ leaders today that the Government’s new tuition fees regime was driving away students.


Sally Hunt, general secretary of the University and College Union, said: "The bottom line is that the Government's policy of massively increasing student fees and student debt has had a big impact on applications.

For the first time in 2012, students in England will pay up to £9,000 a year for courses. Scottish undergraduates studying in their own country will receive free higher education, while those in Wales and Northern Ireland will receive heavily subsidised courses.

- telegraph.co.uk