Students are being ‘ripped off’ by bad degrees, warns Rishi Sunak

Students are being “ripped off” by universities offering bad degrees, Rishi Sunak warns as he unveils a crackdown on low-quality courses.

Writing exclusively for The Telegraph, the Prime Minister says too many young people are being sold a “false dream” that going to university will give them the skills they need to get a “decent job”.

As part of a government plan to improve standards, the universities watchdog will for the first time take future salaries into account when judging if a course is failing participants.

It will be able to cap student numbers for courses where a high proportion of graduates do not go on to a professional job or further education.

Top fees for many foundation courses will also be reduced amid fears students taking them are being used as “cash cows”.

The moves are part of a wider drive by successive Conservative governments to make sure university students are getting their money’s worth after rises in tuition fees.