UK: Mandelson announces 10,000 extra university places

The UK government last week announced an emergency 10,000 extra places at universities this autumn to ease the mounting pressure on the university admissions system - but refused to fully fund the expansion, writes Polly Curtis for The Guardian. The extra students will receive their grants and loans and pay tuition fees, but the universities will get no extra money directly from the government to cover teaching costs.

Universities UK, which represents vice-chancellors, has previously said it would refuse to take extra students if they are not properly funded as it would be the first de facto funding cut they have faced in nearly a decade. The announcement will also dismay some prospective students after the government said the extra places would only be in science, technology, engineering and maths courses.

Universities are facing a record 10% increase in applications for university this autumn. But ministers were forced to introduce a cap on students numbers after discovering a £200 million hole in their budget last autumn.
Full report on The Guardian site