Universities call for funding review over cash drain

Universities in Wales have called for the Welsh government to review the way they are funded, to prevent millions of pounds going to institutions around the United Kingdom, writes Arwyn Jones for BBC Wales.

Currently, Welsh students have the majority of their tuition fees paid wherever they study. As a result, tens of millions of pounds from the higher education budget in Wales goes to universities elsewhere. But the Welsh government said higher education funding was increasing.

Welsh universities told BBC Wales they were not on a level playing field with institutions in other parts of the UK. For every Welsh student that goes to university across the border it costs the Welsh government around £4,500 (US$7,000). It means this year's 7,370 first-year students from Wales who study in other parts of the UK could take more than £33 million with them. Including last year's students, the total figure is over £50 million.
Full report on the BBC Wales site