Fallacies, fees and PhDs

Academics I meet agree that lack of money is a primary reason for student drop-out. Also, the exclusive universities at the top of certain league tables are infamous for their rich, even royal clientele. The charging of top-up fees by these universities would further reduce their mix of students and the relevance and usefulness of their graduates to British society ("Big guns roll out to fight top-up fees", THES, June 23).

The idea that the UK government should give more cash to institutions that are already given far greater monies per student than other universities belies a lack of understanding of the real world.

Comparisons with Harvard and the Ivy League are dangerous. The real advances in industry and wealth in the United States have come from major universities such as the University of California. The Ivy League is not to be copied if we wish a society of true opportunity for all. After all, if Oxford took in all and sundry it would just be another university. Or is that the real fear?

John N. Sutherland

St Andrews