The British Universities and Colleges Admissions Service reports that 54,000 fewer students entered institutions of higher education this year compared to a year ago. This is a 13 percent drop from a year ago. A sharp increase in tuition fees is thought to be the major reason for the large decline in new students at British universities.
The drop in new entrants from a year ago was four times higher for men than it was for women. As a result, the gender gap in new entrants in now the highest in British history. More than 40 percent of eligible women matriculated at universities this year compared to 30 percent of eligible men. Thus, women were 34 percent more likely than men to enter higher education.