Daft degrees

How much did it cost St Andrews University to confer honorary degrees to three golfers, whose principal connection with the institution is that they once played games on a nearby bit of grass (your report, 14 July)?

In times such as these the money this cost would be better spent supporting a struggling student, or in retaining a good lecturer so poorly paid that he/she is looking to move on. The loathsome competition between universities to associate themselves with B-list celebrities is the academic equivalent of Britain's Got Talent.

Who's next in line for an honorary degree: the cat from No 10? Jordan?

Some of the money the universities receive from the state was once tax that I paid: spend it on education please, not toadying.

DAVID FIDDIMORE

Calton Road, Edinburgh