Fees hike leads to sharp decline in students admission rates in British universities

The number of students admitted to British universities last year dropped by as much as 40 percent amid increasing tuition fees. Figures showed that overall students who took admission in England, where fees were the highest, slumped by 51,000 in just 12 months.

According to the Telegraph, the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) said that the substantial' 13 percent decline in numbers nationally was directly associated to the rise in the cost of a degree. But data published for the first time showed that some universities suffered significantly shaper declines. Enrolments at the capital's biggest higher education institution London Metropolitan University dropped by more than 3,000 or 43 percent compared with 2011, the report said.

It also emerged that a number of members of the elite Russell Group, which represents Britain's most sought-after institutions, saw a decline in admission rates. According to the report, 10 out of 24 members, including Birmingham, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Sheffield and Southampton, admitted fewer students in 2012 than in 2011, the report added.

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