The Conservatives are pledging to cut so called Mickey Mouse degrees at Universities and replace them with Apprenticeships
The latest manifesto promise will see 100,000 new apprenticeships created using the cash saved by shutting down what they term close soft-touch degrees with high drop-out rates that fail to land graduates with a well-paid job.
Announcing the policy Rishi Sunak said: “Improving education is the closest thing we have to a silver bullet for boosting life chances.
“So, it’s not fair that some university courses are ripping young people off.
The move could result in a reduction of about 130,000 university places
The Tories say that one in five graduates would have been better off if they hadn’t gone to university, and one in three graduates are in jobs that do not require a degree.
However Labour Shadow Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said of the plan:
“Why on earth should parents and young people believe they’ll create training opportunities now, after 14 years of failing to deliver opportunities for young people and the skills needed to grow our economy?
