Letter: Educational costs

Education is the most important resource of any society; it should be available without restriction to those who qualify.

Before considering charging (your report, 22 September), the management of universities and colleges should perhaps cut out the waste and inefficiency in their establishments. There are staff who never lecture, do research or publish papers and the bureaucracy is over-staffed. We need a complete analysis of the spending and functions of our post-school education system before we ask students to pay a single penny.

BRUCE D SKIVINGTON

Strath

Gairloch, Wester Ross