John Baron
Main Page: John Baron (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)(12 years, 3 months ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text
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Vince Cable
Yes, of course I agree, and I repeat what I have said several times in the past. Indeed, the ultimate assurance that the hon. Lady has are the terms of the legislation under which OFFA operates, the Higher Education Act 2004, which said that the director of OFFA
“has a duty to protect academic freedom”,
including determining
“the criteria for the admission of students”.
That is absolute.
Mr John Baron (Basildon and Billericay) (Con)
May I press the Secretary of State on whether he agrees that the quota policy espoused by Professor Ebdon puts the cart before the horse, and whether we should be pushing schools to produce better students, rather than tempering our universities’ freedom to choose students on merit? Otherwise both students and universities will ultimately suffer.
Vince Cable
As far as I am aware, Professor Ebdon has never advocated the use of quotas. He is certainly not on record to that effect.