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The fall in university applicants is not such a bad thing

That the number of university applicants has fallen by 8.7% is wholly unsurprising. Be it the trebled tuition fees or the realisation degree does not always equal job, scores of would-be students are thinking twice. But what is notable about these figures is they go against almost everything we assumed to be true when the hike in tuition fees was announced. That the disadvantaged would be hardest hit has been disproved, and the vision of youngsters turning their backs on higher education called into question. These are, in fact, some rather myth-busting figures.

By Emma McFarnon | Notebook - A selection of Independent views -, Opinion | Wednesday, 1 February 2012 at 3:01 pm