LONDON, July 9 (UPI) -- A university admissions service says tens of thousands of would-be college students in Britain may lose out on university spots due to a lack of funding.
The Universities & Colleges Admissions Service said with 9.7 percent more people applying to British universities this year compared with 2008, the government only has enough funds in place for 3,000 extra full-time undergraduate students, The Times of London said Thursday.
Peter Mandelson, secretary of state for business, innovation and skills, is attempting to garner enough emergency funds to grant 10,000 more students places in British colleges.
But published figures indicate that Mandelson's request to the British Treasury would not be enough to assist all of the 52,204 people seeking university spots this year, The Times said.
The Million+ working group of new British universities estimates only 16,000 spots will be available this August, a significant drop from the 43,000 spaces filled in 2008.
"During these tough economic times we need to be doing everything we can to support educators and students. The prime minister boasted recently that he would not allow education to become a victim of the recession," Sally Hunt, University and College Union general secretary, told The Times.
