All universities below the top 40 should be shut

Going by the Guardian's league table this would result in closing down both universities in Northern Ireland, meaning those who don't want to/can't afford to travel across to England/Wales/Scotland cannot access higher education.

Where would Northern Ireland get Doctors, Nurses, Lawyers, Engineers, any graduates for that matter?

League tables. They're usually very accurate and respected by top employers.

I really disagree with you! I'm have applied to study Primary Education and the best courses for this are often provided by universities way below the top 40! If you got rid of all of these universities, future teachers wouldn't receive the best possible training which would put children at a major disadvantage!!

UCL needs to be shut down, the godless scum across the river!!!!! It's a disgrace that they are allowed to remain open.

I generally agree with you. Maybe keep a few more than 40 universities and also I don't think we should base it purely on league tables as they can be a bit wishy-washy. But nowadays, it seems like every Tom, Dick and Harry has a degree whether even if they are not necessarily 'academic' type people because they are able to get into universities on lower grades. It's no wonder degrees have lost a lot of their value!

if you're keen on reducing student numbers, why do it by shutting entire unis rather than taking a look at the proportion of the student body doing humanities courses? The reasons usually given by politicians for expanding HE in the past - preparing the uk for the high tech, knowledge based economy of the future etc. don't match with what has been allowed to happen... an explosion of places on humanities and social science courses.

If only the top 40 best universities remained open that means only the most academically able applicants would ever get a place and the cost to the tax payer would be far less to run the universities.

Also, with far less universities, the UK might be able to reinstate free tuition.

Less universities is an exceptional idea, but the criteria for closing them down you've suggested is horrendous.

It's true we have too many students, and it's true we have too many degrees that are costing taxpayer money and not leading to taxpayer benefit through better employment options for students.

This isn't the fault of students.

This is the fault of years of government propaganda and policy. For years, we've been told that we have to go to university. For years, we've been told that if we don't, we'll end up unemployed or earn so much less. This has lead to too many people going to university and a devaluation of the degree.

A lot of these people are doing courses that give little taxpayer benefit, too - humanities and social science courses mostly. We have a lack of physicists and an abundance of literature graduates, for example.

Alongside this, there has been a massive devaluation of 'vocational' courses. People think that these courses are beneath them. Why? Because there is so much emphasis on academic intelligence and not enough on practical intelligence.

A good plumber, electrician, builder, joiner, metalworker etc can make bloody good money running their own business or working for a company. Yet, a BTEC in Electrical Engineering or Plumbing is seen as a 'thick' route - it's obviously much cleverer to go to your local polytechnic and do a course that gives you absolutely no job skills.

This is of course, rather hypocritical of me, given my degree. I know there is little to no need for my degree in the job market. My degree won't get me a job unless it's a job based on social research or relations, and given that those jobs - in this economic climate - are rarely than rocking horse sh*te, I don't see one coming my way.

So yes, we should shut some universities down. We should shut some courses down, but not on the criteria you specify. League tables are pointless. League tables are useless. The mark of a good university is quality teaching and quality research output, not student satisfaction or percentage of graduates who complete their course.

If only the top 40 best universities remained open that means only the most academically able applicants would ever get a place and the cost to the tax payer would be far less to run the universities.

Also, with far less universities, the UK might be able to reinstate free tuition.

Well on the Independent Uni guide (as an example) the 41st ranked University is Brunel.

Joe Brand and Lee Mack went there and they're hilarious.

So did several MPs, Ross Brawn (Mercedes f1 Team Principal), Audley Harrison (Boxer).

But **** their lives right?