‘Up to 10,000 places will go’ in London Metropolitan University carnage

Published: 29th April, 2011
by TOM FOOT

TEN thousand student places could be lost at London Metropolitan University because of fees rises, Jeremy Corbyn MP has told the House of Commons.

The Labour MP for Islington North raised strong concerns for the future of the university in Holloway Road.

Speaking on Wednesday in a debate on the Coalition government’s higher education policy, Mr Corbyn said: “The universities that have not raised their fees to £9,000, such as my own London Metropolitan Univer­sity, are giving themselves a large financial problem which is resulting – in the case of the London Met – in the loss of possibly as many as 10,000 ­students’ places over the next three years, a large number of redundancies, and a loss of access to higher education for students from working-class backgrounds.

He added: “That is the perverse effect of the government’s strategy of effectively trying to privatise higher education.”

The government has cut all funding for humanities courses – like arts, geography, history and literature – while simultaneously removing a cap on how much universities can charge students for courses. 

The university has responded by reducing the number of courses it offers to student from 557 to 160 – or by 70 per cent. 

Hundreds of staff will be made redundant. 

Union leaders are calling on governors to oppose the decision to axe so many courses.

Vice-chancellor Malcolm Gillies told the Tribune last week that he thought the government’s cuts to university funding were “appalling”, adding: “The rise in fees means students are going to be paying for their education for 35 years to come.”