Following a U-turn on exams results, the government has lifted the cap on the number of places universities can offer to students.
The decision comes after it was announced that A-level students’ grades can now be based on teachers’ assessments if they were higher than the moderated grades they received last week.
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Addressing concerns about capacity problems at universities, education secretary Gavin Williamson said: “We are already working very closely with the university sector to make sure that we do everything we can do to build as much capacity in there.
“We expect universities to be flexible. We expect them to go above and beyond to be able to honour those commitments but we also recognise, you know, that’s why today we’ve lifted the student number caps in order for universities to be able to expand and put extra capacity into the system.”
A Universities UK spokesperson said: “The student number cap was put in place to provide stability in recruitment between universities and to avoid further financial hardship.
“We are urgently seeking confirmation from government about what alternative forms of support will now be put in place to prevent financial instability from any shifts in student recruitment as a result of this late change in policy.”
A temporary student number cap had been introduced in June for the academic year 2020-21.
The measure was justified by the government as a means to protect students’ access to higher education while ensuring providers wouldn’t take a ‘recruitment’ approach.
But after the A-levels results fiasco and consequent U-turn five days later, figures in the education sector started calling for a removal of the cap on student numbers to ensure that students who had been previously downgraded wouldn’t miss out on their education.
Mary Bousted, joint general secretary of the NEU teaching union, said today: “Gavin Williamson should now announce that the cap on university places is lifted, so that more young people, who have worked so hard for their A-levels, can continue their studies and fulfil their potential.”
