Lift Cap, says Leading Government Advisor

The cap on student fees must be lifted if universities are to continue to provide the high-quality scientists the UK needs, warns John Holman, director of the government-funded National Science Learning Centre.
"It's very difficult to see how a future of excellence throughout the university system can be maintained unless at some point there's a more economic approach to university fees," he said. "At some point we need to question whether the cap on fees [of £3,245 a year] should be lifted."
Professor Holman added that universities, "further down in the popularity stakes would be under a lot of pressure to maintain courses". But he stressed he did not want a "free for all" with no ceiling on fees.
His comments come just weeks before the Government is due to launch an independent review into the university funding system, which will report back after the general election.