Shabana Mahmood
Main Page: Shabana Mahmood (Labour - Birmingham, Ladywood)(12 years, 2 months ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text
Mr Willetts
Our policy of saying that universities are free to recruit students with AAB or better without number controls puts more power and choice in the hands of students, which is one of the key propositions of our White Paper. We need to strengthen students in the system to get universities to focus on high-quality teaching and we intend to go further with that proposal.
Shabana Mahmood (Birmingham, Ladywood) (Lab)
The Minister caused unacceptable confusion and uncertainty for students making applications and to higher education institutions last year through his introduction of the core and margin model. Will he take this opportunity to agree with us and to heed calls from across the sector that there should be no further changes to core and margin in the next academic year?
Mr Willetts
We are considering this in the light of the experience that universities are having, but we have made it absolutely clear that the direction in which we want to go is for more choice for students and more flexibility for universities. The timings will depend on the experience of universities.