Rishi Sunak cracks down on ‘rip-off’ university degrees in UK

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Monday unveiled plans for a crackdown on "rip-off" degrees being offered by some universities in the country that do not lead to decent job prospects for students.

The 43-year-old British Indian leader wants the higher education sector to pay more attention to boost apprenticeship opportunities for the youth that would help them in the jobs market in the longer run.

Under the plans released by the Department for Education (DfE), university courses that fail to deliver good outcomes, with high drop-out rates and poor employment prospects will be subject to strict controls.

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"The UK is home to some of the best universities in the world and studying for a degree can be immensely rewarding; but too many young people are being sold a false dream and end up doing a poor-quality course at the taxpayers’ expense that doesn't offer the prospect of a decent job at the end of it," said Sunak.

"That is why we are taking action to crack down on rip-off university courses, while boosting skills training and apprenticeships provision. This will help more young people to choose the path that is right to help them reach their potential and grow our economy," he said.

The Office for Students (OfS) in England will be asked to limit the number of students that universities can recruit onto courses that are failing to deliver good outcomes for students.

DfE said it wants to make the system fairer for students and also British taxpayers, who make the ultimate investment in higher education and are liable for billions of pounds in unrecovered tuition fees if graduate earnings are low.

"Students and taxpayers rightly expect value for money and a good return on the significant financial investment they make in higher education,” said UK Education Secretary Gillian Keegan, who has often spoken about her own apprenticeship experience as a teenager in a car factory.

"These new measures will crack down on higher education providers that continue to offer poor quality courses and send a clear signal that we will not allow students to be sold a false promise. Wherever they choose to study, it is vital students can gain the skills needed to get great jobs and succeed – supporting the Prime Minister’s priority to grow our economy,” she said.

Figures from the OfS show that nearly three in 10 graduates do not progress into highly skilled jobs or further study 15 months after graduating. The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) also estimates that one in five graduates would be better off financially if they hadn’t gone to university.

“This is another strong signal for universities to control such recruitment as it is not in students’ best interests and I hope the sector responds constructively,” said Philip Augar, chair of the independent Review of Post-18 Education and Funding.

The government said it wants to make sure that universities and colleges are offering the same standard of high-quality provision expected in schools, and that young people are encouraged to choose the path that is right for them – whether it’s a university degree, a higher technical qualification, or an apprenticeship.

As part of the announcements this week, the DfE will also reduce the maximum fee that universities can charge for classroom-based foundation year courses to GBP 5,760 – down from GBP 9,250 currently.

Foundation year courses are an additional year of study designed to help prepare students for degrees with specific entry requirements or knowledge, such as in medicine and veterinary sciences. However, DfE research shows that too many people are encouraged to take a foundation year in some subjects like business where it is not necessary.

The OfS has also been charged to continue work to make it easier for students to assess the quality of each university course, including its earnings potential, so that they can make the most informed decision about where and what to study.

A new digital platform and a more streamlined process are also among government proposals intended to make access to apprenticeships easier for students and employers.