Leading article: Cash question

The Education Select Committee is on to something. The MPs are quite right to ask ministers and officials how they can be sure that we can secure repayment of top-up fees from EU students once the new regime is introduced in 2006.

The Education Select Committee is on to something. The MPs are quite right to ask ministers and officials how they can be sure that we can secure repayment of top-up fees from EU students once the new regime is introduced in 2006. (see page 6) The open-mouthed response from Ruth Kelly and Alan Wilson was perhaps predictable. The airing of the issue has revealed that the Student Loan Company (SLC) is being expected to collect the money from the thousands and thousands of EU students graduating from English universities. But is it realistic to expect the SLC to chase up foreigners all over Europe? If it can't get its hands on the money, we face the prospect of losing a huge amount of money - up to £150m. The Government also has to expect a big political row over the fact that the English are having to pay top-up fees but thousands of EU graduates will pay nothing.