LONDON -- Last week the Labour Party government of Prime Minister Tony Blair just barely won a vote in the House of Commons on the payment of "top-up" fees at British universities. The government had failed to consult widely in the Labour Party before announcing its policy on fees, and this was one reason for the close result. It was undoubtedly a setback to the government in its efforts to modernize public services.
While the new arrangements, if and when they are finally approved by Parliament, will ensure more funds for the universities as a whole, leading universities will still have inadequate funds to cover the costs of teaching and research.
At the last election the government pledged to do more to improve education at the secondary level and to ensure that some 50 percent of young people in Britain had a university education. It was forced by budgetary realities, however, to recognize that the second aim could not be achieved without a greater contribution from students, or their parents, to the costs of university education over and above the current annual university fees of £1,125.