Cam hails uni boost
New figures showing a rise in university applications prove fears about the increase in tuition fees were unfounded, David Cameron has said.
Statistics from UCAS showed an overall increase of 3.5% in people applying, with 10.5% in 19-year-olds applying.
"After all of the concerns that were expressed about the new way of paying for university finance reducing the number of students applying to university, the number of 18-year olds applying to university has now gone up and is now level with where it was at in 2011, which is higher than any year under the last Labour government," the Prime Minister told MPs this afternoon.
Mary Curnock Cook, the chief executive of UCAS, said the figures were “encouraging” and allay fears of a ‘double dip’ in applications following the introduction of £9,000 tuition fees in 2011.
"The significant increase in 19 year olds applying may be indicating that some young people delayed their decisions about higher education after leaving school last year,” she said.