Welfare Reform on the Web (January 2012): Education - UK - higher

More students turning to prostitution to pay fees

R. Garner

The Independent, Dec. 15th 2011, p. 10

The National Union of Students has said that more students are turning to prostitution and escorting to afford education after the rise in university tuition fees and cuts to the Education Maintenance Allowance, which is paid to disadvantaged young people to persuade them to stay in school. The claims were supported by the English Collective of Prostitutes.

Private university plans 'will lower standards'

G. Paton

Daily Telegraph, Dec. 7th 2011, p. 1, 6 + 23

In a letter to the newspaper, leading academics argued that coalition government plans to expand private universities could condemn generations of students to substandard education. They claimed that giving for-profit companies access to state funding could lead to a poor undergraduate experience, higher drop-out rates and lower academic standards