Rishi Sunak Calls for a Clampdown on 'Rip-off Degrees'

Summary:

• Prime Minister Rishi Sunak calls for a major shake-up of the university system by imposing a cap on low-quality degrees.
• Data shows 66 providers have low graduate progression to high-skilled employment or further study after graduating.
• The government's plan will be implemented in 2025, leading to debates about its timing and effectiveness.
• Students' opinions are divided, with some emphasizing equal treatment of all degrees and the importance of pursuing one's passion.

The Prime Minister calls for a major shake-up of the university system, imposing a cap on what he refers to as low-quality degrees, in a bid to improve the overall financial sustainability and ensure a better education system.

Full of hope for the future, but have some of the students graduating up and down the country today been sold a false dream? Yes, according to the Prime Minister, who wants to see a major shake-up of the university system imposing a cap on what he calls low-quality degrees. Part of these reforms clamping down on low-quality courses will improve the overall financial sustainability of the system, and that's right, it's right for students, right for the taxpayer, and ultimately will build a better education system. In the House of Commons, the Education Secretary was under pressure to say which courses were in the firing line. Data shows that there were 66 providers where fewer than 60% of graduates progress to high-skilled employment or further study 15 months after graduating. This is not acceptable. A government whose only big idea for our world-leading universities is to put up fresh barriers to opportunity anxious to keep young people in their place. Today's announcement has certainly grabbed headlines in friendly newspapers like this one.

But if we read between the lines, this is still in its very early stages. At the moment, the government has simply asked the regulator to have a look at the issue and come up with a plan, the main thrust of which will be implemented in 2025, which means this Prime Minister may not be in office when these big promises are delivered. And the sector's representative body says a lot of this work is already going on. What the government has done is sort of spin something that is already part of the regulatory system as a backstop, as a big crackdown. But I do think the government wants to get a head like that a bit. Beyond Westminster, it's students who will feel the effects of these changes. So what do these Leeds graduates make of it all? If you have a passion and you can study at university, each degree should be seen equally.

It's both the opportunities that you're given and also how much of those opportunities you're able to make use of. There's no point doing a university degree that you feel as if you're being pushed to do because it looks good and you think you're going to get a job. More details will be revealed over the summer when we'll find out if this political theatre will result in real action. Liz Bates, Sky News, Westminster.

The government's plan to clamp down on low-quality degrees is met with mixed reactions, and its effectiveness will be closely scrutinized as the reforms progress.