GOVERNMENT'S PROPOSALS ON HIGHER EDUCATION

EDM number 1915 in 2002-03, proposed by Michael Connarty on 12/11/2003.

That this House, while recognising the overwhelming advantages in respect of career opportunities, lifetime earnings and quality of life conferred on graduates, particularly those from leading research universities recognises that the Government's proposals have the potential to redistribute public investment in education from the present graduate minority to the non-graduate majority, but is concerned that if individual universities are allowed to set and collect varying levels of fees, elite universities with the potential to raise additional funds through endowments and other methods used world-wide would be able to raise substantially greater funds through fees than other universities in this state sector, and a market in higher education would be created rather than additional funds being raised through a fixed level of fees for each student to be paid back through an endowment system as in Scotland and distributed to higher and further education institutions in line with the universities' and Government's agreed priorities for higher education.

This motion has been signed by a total of 6 MPs.