Bridget Phillipson instructs Public Sector Fraud Authority to look into whether millions of pounds falsely claimed
Fraud experts will investigate the university loans system amid concerns that students are falsely claiming millions of pounds without intending to study, the education secretary has announced.
Bridget Phillipson has instructed the Public Sector Fraud Authority to coordinate the response to allegations that individuals with no genuine academic intent are enrolling in degree courses to secure loans.
The claims were first revealed in an investigation by the Sunday Times, which reviewed financial documents and company accounts and interviewed a dozen sources from the Student Loans Company (SLC), the Department for Education, the Office for Students (OfS), and university lecturers.
The newspaper reported that most of the students under scrutiny are believed to be at “franchised universities”, which are colleges paid to provide courses for established universities.
It also revealed the concern of a potential “organised recruitment” of Romanian nationals in particular to enrol on courses.
Writing in the newspaper, Phillipson described the revelations as “one of the biggest financial scandals in the history of our universities sector”. She said: “Today’s revelations of major misuse of public money and potential fraud by students in franchised universities deal a hammer blow to the integrity of higher education in this country.
