I COULD hardly believe my eyes when I saw that the Conservatives were proposing abolishing tuition fees for university students.

For a minute I thought that the Tories had played the master stroke of moving to left thus leaving the Labour government stranded!

Brilliant! However, my joy soon faded as I read on. Beneath this admirable policy was the desire to cut back on the number of "Mickey Mouse" courses (their words not mine) in order to pay for this initiative. Silly me, how could I have thought they would change.

Underneath this proposal is a move back towards the days of "me, me, me" and making education at university level for the elite only.

I had benefited from higher education (1982-86) at the so called "Mickey Mouse" institutions called Polytechnics.

They were looked down on by the universities and were unable to award their own degrees. However, they did offer more vocational courses at all levels and not just the high academia of the traditional subjects.

I achieved a B and two Es at A level and so was unable to study at university. Instead I took a four year degree (including a year working in industry) and graduated with a 2:1. I then went on to qualify as a teacher and have since been acknowledged as a first class one. If the cynics of that time had denied my access to higher education, because I was seen a poorer student, I would never be where I am today.

Over the last 10 years I have seen many of my students go to university when even in my day there would have been no courses suitable for them. Labour has opened up university education to a much wider group of students because of vocational courses and a commitment to Lifelong Learning.

Many of those students came from poorer families and although they had to pay for fees, they received help to ensure that they had the chance to study.

If the Tories are allowed to reduce the number of courses those with lower qualifications will be barred from higher education.

Please do not be fooled by this policy offering something that I am sure we would all want. If we are to allow as many young people to benefit from higher education, with all the benefits that this brings in terms of self confidence and increased experience, we must be prepared to pay for it.

I J HOWARD

Westlea