Private universities complain of insecurity

On the face of it, private providers of higher education have never had it so good. Long regarded as a threat by many in the sector, they have been warmly welcomed by the coalition government. And business is booming. Yet senior figures in the private sector are getting anxious. They say they are still wrestling with a system that was not set up to accommodate them, and until changes are embedded by legislation, they face an uncertain future, writes Anna Fazackerley for the Guardian.

Private providers say there was considerable opposition from the last administration, with civil servants frequently barring their way with new pieces of inexplicable bureaucracy. The coalition has made no bones about its willingness to embrace private provision. For the first time, this autumn undergraduates studying a higher education course run by a private provider can access public loans of £6,000 (US$9,600) a year to finance their degree.

Paul Marshall, chief executive of the Association of Business Schools, explains: "Private providers benefit from being outside the system and right now they can expand provision massively, but what happens if Labour comes in and stops all this? The risk is very high for investors.”
Full report on the Guardian site