David Willetts MP, the Universities and Science Minister, described how  “the current system of funding for higher education is no longer fit for purpose. Any new funding settlement must promote world-class competitiveness in teaching and research, with better quality for students.” What the Browne review achieves is breaking the link between taxpayer’s money and higher education, opening the sector to even closer collaboration between business and enterprise, and creating a competitive education market.

There will be those that argue that private sector engagement in education dilutes social inclusion and will deter or prohibit access from the less well off but I entirely disagree; this is simply the short-sighted diversion being put forward by the reviews detractors.

The reality is that competition drives creativity and innovation. The education market will prove fertile ground for business collaboration and entrepreneurs and whilst less academically intensive courses will no doubt fall by the wayside, demand will be met by institutions focusing on courses offering higher quality, increased employability and greater social inclusion.

Reports of students burdened with a lifetime of debt are sensationalist, with the review recommending that there are no upfront payment of fees for university courses and therefore it is not a tax on students- no studying student will pay a penny. Instead university students will continue to receive substantial loans to attend university which don’t become repayable until they are earning £21,000 per annum. The portrayal of students being deterred from applying for universities because of the cost of a later loan repayment are unfounded, as were those in 2004 when the Higher Education Act first introduced tuition fees. No 18-year-old working in a part-time job at the local corner shop or behind a bar will equate the distant future potential cost of loan repayment with an investment in his or her future- unless of course they are scared into believing the stories.

Based on fees of £6,000 and living costs of £4000 on a 3 year degree course graduates could be faced with more than £30,000 of loan repayments. Under Lord Browne’s proposal graduates would pay back 9% of their monthly income above the £21,000 lower earning rate – for those owing £30,000 this equates to approximately £30 a month on a salary of £25,000, £143 on £40,000 and £293 on £60,000. £30 a month represents about two thirds of the cost of a gym membership or drinks on one night out.

The taxpayer, business and graduates are not the only winners from the recommendations, so is social inclusion and personal investment. For the first time a government strategy has included recommendations for support of part-time education, an initial investment in those individuals committed to personal development. Martin Bean, vice-chancellor of The Open University welcomed this focus describing it as “a landmark day for part-time higher education in England. The Browne review marks the end of a two-tier system that until now has disadvantaged part-time students. It signals the start of a new, modern era of higher education that promotes opportunity, flexibility, quality and the crucial role of part-time in delivering future economic growth and social mobility.”

Delivering a modern approach to higher education funding was never going to be popular with those anchoring themselves to an archaic system but what Lord Browne has delivered is not only a reassertion of the importance graduates play in the economy but a statement of intent that education is about individuals and personal investment, not about government.

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