Sweet girl graduates
Sir: Mr Bown (Letters, 4 April) regards the prospect of Cambridge colleges becoming co- educational with eloquent and righteous indig- nation: 'serious issues of educational practice and student morality are raised by these pro- posals, upon which he who pays for the universities, the taxpayer, has every right to call the tune.' No doubt the taxpayer should also decide on the academic syllabuses, the college gate hours and perhaps even the plans of new college buildings?
Mr Bown's argument, drawn to its logical conclusion, is as absurd as his premises. In fact, the Government can and should ensure that the standard of education in universities justifies the vast sums of money which are spent on them, and that therefore the nation will benefit from its investment. But it -cer- tainly does not 'have every right to call the tune' about the private morality of students, or anyone else subsidised by the welfare state. There are some areas of university adminis- tration where the college authorities are more qualified to make decisions than even the tax- payer—and this is one of them.
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