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| Wartime poetry for Poppy Appeal Soprano Hayley Westenra launches a CD of wartime poetry and prose to make money for the 90th Poppy Appeal. bbc.co.uk |
High tuition fees will deter poor students, ministers warned Education charities say higher fees will make prestigious courses 'the preserve of the privileged'Ministers were warned today that teenagers from the poorest families would be put off studying for degrees at prestigious universities if they adopted Lord Browne's recommendations.In his review of university funding, the former BP chief executive argues for a free market with universities setting the fees they think they can command.Fees are currently capped at £3,290 a year. Browne recommends universities charge according to their reputation and popularity. Some institutions could command £12,000 a year or more. Most graduates would also have to pay back their fees at a higher rate of interest – 2.2% plus inflation.However, Browne's review includes suggestions to reduce the anxieties of poor students. He suggests universities that charge more than £6,000 should be scrutinised to ensure that they give sufficient financial help to students from low-income families. He recommends that low-income students be given a higher sum for their living expenses. And graduates will not start paying back their fees until they earn £21,000, up from £15,000 now.But those who campaign for a better social mix at universities expressed frustration with the Browne review recommendations.The Helena Kennedy Foundation, an education charity, warned that a free market in fees could lead to "social sorting" unless universities offered generous bursaries.Wes Streeting, the charity's chief executive, said: "Those universities wishing to charge higher fees must demonstrate how they will offer a genuinely 'needs blind' admissions system, with high-quality, high-value bursaries to offset the deterrent effect that higher fees and debt can have on those from the poorest backgrounds."Sir Peter Lampl, chair of the influential education charity the Sutton Trust, said there was a danger that higher fees for the most prestigious courses would make them "the preserve of the most privileged". Lampl said he was concerned that higher fees would mean students from non-privileged backgrounds "might still be deterred from applying in the first place".The authors of Left Foot Forward, an influential blog, have calculated that graduates in public sector jobs would pay more in university fees than those who become City bankers under Browne's plans.The average graduate is expected to owe £30,000 under Browne's proposals. Over 30 years, this would rise to £57,630.A teacher starting on £20,000 with a salary that rises by £1,000 every year, would pay back £39,150 over 30 years. A civil servant on £25,000 with a salary that rises £1,000 every year would pay £44,600 over 30 years. However, a banker starting on £60,000 with a salary rise of £3,000 every year will pay back just £27,900 over seven years."Those in top-paying jobs would end up making smaller contributions than students on middle incomes," Will Straw, the editor of the blog and son of Jack Straw, said.Labour has warned that while well-paid graduates would be able to pay their fees quickly, for those on middle-income, the cost would be spread over many more years and so be greater. However, Vince Cable has a plan to stop this.Ministers were also warned that higher fees could deter students from black and ethnic minorities from attending university. Many ethnic minorities are already under-represented in universities.Professor Patrick McGhee, vice-chancellor of the University of East London, said he did not think that ministers intended to "further reduce the life chances of black and minority ethnic communities, but that might well be the unintended consequence of wholesale adoption of a differential fees regime".Tuition feesHigher educationStudentsAccess to universityEducation policyJessica Shepherdguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Simon Pegg: 'I am a Nerd' Actor Simon Pegg explains why Star Wars made him a nerd. bbc.co.uk |
TA Bomb hunter returns to desk after six months in Helmand An office worker has told how she swapped the safety of her desk job for a terrifying role on the Afghan front line as a part-time landmine hunter. telegraph.co.uk |
Bride and groom held in immigration raid Suspected sham wedding at Sheffield town hall halted in latest raid by police and UK Border AgencyA bride and groom were taken in handcuffs from a register office in Sheffield today in a high-profile raid by police and immigration staff who are targeting sham weddings.Passersby watched as the groom, a 36-year-old originally from Afghanistan and wearing a grey suit, was led from the aborted civil ceremony by a uniformed officer and a plainclothes colleague.The intended bride, dressed in a floor-length white bridal gown with intricate beading sewn to the front, was then escorted from Sheffield town hall. A 21-year-old originally from Slovakia, she was also handcuffed and looked clearly upset.The couple were led past shoppers in the busy plaza along with two guests who had been invited to the wedding, which had been about to start when the officers intervened. They were taken away in two police vans which had drawn up nearby.Detective Sergeant Alisdair Duncan of South Yorkshire police, who led the operation, said the raid continued a summer of intense activity against suspected sham weddings by the UK Border Agency: "The couple were due to get married at 10.30am and we've just disrupted that. The message is that we can disrupt these weddings. There are laws there and we're enforcing them."The would-be groom is understood to be a failed asylum-seeker.A spokesman for the UKBA said that 53 suspect weddings had been stopped since the practice was first targeted four months ago. Few attempts at discretion have been made during the arrest of 118 participants, to emphasise that police and border agency staff are prepared to exercise the traditional right of anyone to attend a wedding and object.Duncan said: "There were quite a few weddings taking place but these have really tailed off now. So it is having an impact. We've had so much publicity you wonder why people continue."Jeremy Oppenheim, UKBA regional director for the North-East, Yorkshire and the Humber, said: "We will not tolerate immigration abuse and, once again, our immigration crime teams have shown that they will crack down on those attempting sham marriages. Our aim now is to identify the organisers who would seek to profit from this kind of illegal activity and destroy their criminal business."He also called for anyone associated with weddings to be aware of possible immigration-related scams: "We are working closely with registrars to identify marriages that may not be genuine. We do not expect vicars or registrars to be experts in immigration law or spotting forged documents – that's our job. But, if they have any suspicions about whether a relationship is genuine, we would urge them to get in touch with us."Immigration and asylumCrimeMartin Wainwrightguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |