Willetts hails fewer limits to business links with universities

Many more commercial companies are expected to get involved in running parts of universities as the tripling of tuition fees has removed a major barrier to private-sector involvement, it has emerged.

David Willetts, the universities and science minister, used his speech at the Conservative Party conference this week to indicate that the shift from public to private funding in higher education had changed the game for investment by businesses in the sector.

Speaking in Manchester, he said that European Union rules that can deter universities from contracting out services would no longer apply for the “vast majority” of institutions …

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