Misspent on youth

MPs identify that the state was slow to spot abuse of public monies, writes Alison Goddard.

The government ignored repeated warnings about wasting public funds on alternative providers of higher education, according to a report published today by the Commons public accounts committee. The BBC says that almost £4 million was spent on students who were ineligible for support. The Guardian says that the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has no clue as to how much of the £1.27 billion paid out has been lost to waste or fraud. We have a piece, available only to full subscribers to HE, on how the state should keep a closer eye on how public money is spent on alternative providers of higher education. The issue may resurface later in the week when BBC Radio 4’s Face the Facts programme airs its investigation into St Patrick’s International College.

The UK may lose its dominant position as one of the world’s most popular destinations for international students, reports The Times. The British Council has today published an analysis of international student mobility. Post-study work visas should be rethought to enable international graduates to contribute to the British economy, the all-party parliamentary group on migration recommends in a report also published today. We have an article, available only to full subscribers to HE, which examines how the UK risks losing out to international competitors under the present arrangements.