Leading article: Top-up facts

Oxford needs more money, as do the other top universities in the UK. Just how much more is outlined in the new report from the Oxford Centre for Higher Education Policy Studies, an independent think tank. The average cost of educating an Oxford undergraduate is £18,600 a year - more than double the £8,800 the university receives. The £3,000 top-up fee will help, but the university will still face a deficit of £14m. All of which goes to show that when, and if, the top-up fee bill goes through, the argument will have only just begun. The opponents of change need to face up to the cost of higher education, and ask themselves whether there is any justice inexpecting the taxpayer to foot so much of it.