University applicants in England fall

University applicants in England fall

	Published : Thu, 16 Feb 2006 16:05 By : Amy Watts Print this Story

LONDON: There is a sharp fall in the number of applicants to university courses in England and some educationists link it to the proposed increase in tuition fees from the next academic year.

The Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) said the number of students applying for university courses in the country for the forthcoming academic year has fallen by 3.4 per cent compared with 2005.

The number of applications to English universities, which propose to impose the new top-up fee system, is down 3.7 per cent, while the number of students applying to Scottish and Welsh universities, which are not raising their tuition fees, rose by 1.6 per cent and 0.5 per cent respectively.

UCAS, however, insisted that the figures need to be considered in relation to the unprecedented number of applications last year -- an 8 per cent rise compared with the previous year -- to beat the fee increase proposal. It also said the figures only represent the number of applications submitted on or before the initial 15 January deadline, pointing out that applications continue to be entertained right until the term begins in September-October.

UCAS chief executive Anthony McClaran said for instance last year, nearly 138,000 students submitted applications after the 15 January deadline.

However, opponents of the fee hike say the proposal of 3,000-pounds-a-year fee has a negative impact on students seeking higher education. Kat Fletcher, president of National Union of Students, said the drop in number is extremely worrying. It is suggestive that top-up fees and the debt they represent are deterring potential students, she said.

Ed Davey, education spokesperson for the Liberal Democrats, who opposed the proposal for higher fees in the Commons, said the decline in university applicants "shows student fees are already beginning to bite".

Higher education minister Bill Rammell downplayed the drop and said although there had been a fall since last year’s record rush to beat tuition fees, there were more applications than in 2004.

He compared the situation to the one in 1998 when tuition fees were introduced. There was an initial dip, but slowly the trend went up. "If you take the two years together, there’s still an increase of 12,500 students, or 4.8 per cent.

“The figures also show there’s been no drop in applications from lower socio-economic groups — which has remained at 31 per cent for the past two years.”

The UCAS study showed that there is a significant increase in the number of students applying for vocational subjects such as social work, teaching and nursing. There is also an 11 per cent rise in the number of applicants for mathematics courses. The number of prospective law students fell by 7 per cent, although it continues to be the most popular undergraduate subject in the country.

The study also showed that the number of overseas students seeking admission in U.K. universities has gone up -- so far 41,163 applications have been received from foreign nationals.

The figures revealed that women applicants far outnumber men. Across the UK, there were 208,020 female applicants compared with 163,654 men.