Thousands of ‘fake’ students at UK's new higher education colleges

http://www.theguardian.com/education...MCNEWEML6619I2

Thousands of students enrolled with a new breed of private higher education colleges are not registered to take recognised exams, the government’s spending watchdog revealed on Tuesday, raising fears that huge numbers of undergraduates have been benefiting from taxpayer subsidy without undertaking meaningful study.

By comparing data on those claiming student fees with those registered with exam board Pearson/Edexcel, the spending watchdog identified 2,963 students – 20% of the total studying HNDs – who accessed student funding in 2012-13 without ever being registered to sit exams. This figure excluded students who dropped out that year. In total those students could therefore have accessed over £50m.

So why wasn't anyone monitoring this? Seems like basic common sense to me..

[nomadking]

But though they were in receipt of public money, Willetts was unable to get new parliamentary powers he needed to hold private colleges to proper account with inspection regimes or demands to see their books, after Lib Dems backed out of supporting a new education bill.

There's your answer.

[Ignitionnet]

Originally Posted by nomadking

There's your answer.

Do you know the bill inside and out, hence know that that is specifically why the Lib Dems wouldn't go along with it?

Or is there perhaps a whole ton of other stuff in the bill that they might find objectionable?

[Osem]

Maybe they should recruit a few landlords...

I really couldn't care less about who voted down what..I'm just wondering does anyone on the present government actually monitor the decisions they are making and ensure they are working/running correctly and that the aims of those decisions are actually being achieved or is it all just sound bites without any concern for how the public's money is actually being spent..

[nomadking]

The reason they can't monitor the situation is because the Lib-Dems voted it down. If they hadn't voted it down, it could have been monitored.

[Ignitionnet]

Originally Posted by nomadking

The reason they can't monitor the situation is because the Lib-Dems voted it down. If they hadn't voted it down, it could have been monitored.

Again what was tacked onto said bill that made in unpalatable to the Liberal Democrats?

I'm no fan of theirs but it seems a gross simplification to suggest they'd vote against something like that if it were standing on its own.

Originally Posted by nomadking

The reason they can't monitor the situation is because the Lib-Dems voted it down. If they hadn't voted it down, it could have been monitored.

So THIS government put in place something they couldn't monitor? How can that happen?

[Ignitionnet]

Originally Posted by Maggy J

So THIS government put in place something they couldn't monitor? How can that happen?

Clearly the Lib Dems had the bill amended to remove that part.

Originally Posted by Ignitionnet

Clearly the Lib Dems had the bill amended to remove that part.

So it would seem.Still seems improbable though.But of course in some people's eyes the present Tory part of the coalition can do no wrong...