Spending on higher and further education could be cut by 25 per cent over the next four years. This would mean a loss of more than 33,000 jobs in further education colleges in England, and more than 22,500 jobs in England’s universities.
Even without these cuts, it is now looking as though 180,000 university applicants will miss out on a place this year. University and College Union general secretary Sally Hunt said, “It is not scaremongering to talk about a lost generation of learners. It is disgraceful that thousands of applicants will be denied the chance to fulfil their potential at university.”