ÌÇÐÄVlog

The High Court has overruled the UK secretary of state¡¯s decision to prevent a college from being able to access student loan funding.

A judicial review brought by the Oxford Business College has concluded that Bridget Phillipson¡¯s actions in April were ¡°unlawful¡±.

Citing concerns about ¡°recruitment and attendance¡± at the college, the minister stepped in to prevent new students from accessing government-backed loans with ¡°immediate effect¡±, while existing students were given until the 31 August to transfer to courses at partner providers.

After a two-day heating, Mrs Justice Ellenbogen has ruled this decision should be set aside.

Welcoming the court¡¯s ruling, Padmesh Gupta, the managing director of the Oxford Business College, said it had experienced an ¡°obvious injustice¡±.

The DfE had investigated the college and Gupta said this concluded ¡°with no findings whatsoever of fraud or criminality¡± but the department decided to de-designate its courses anyway.

¡°This was a wholly unjustified action which has threatened the future of the college and our students,¡± Gupta continued.

¡°The DfE ignored all procedural fairness by denying the college leadership a proper opportunity to make a full and informed response to sweeping, unevidenced allegations.

¡°A cornerstone of any fair process is the right to know the case against you and to be provided with the evidence that supports that case.¡±

He said the reputation of the college, which offered?degrees in areas such as business, events management and health and social care across five English campuses, had been ¡°severely damaged¡±.

¡°Throughout all its activities, the college upholds the highest standards of integrity, compliance and academic excellence,¡± Gupta added.

He said it was now time for both sides to ¡°learn from the lessons of the past, review, reform, and strengthen our processes and start the process to rebuild¡±.

A Department for Education spokesperson said: ¡°We are determined to restore trust in our higher education sector and uphold the reputation of our world class universities.

¡°We note the decision of the court delivered on 22 August and we are considering our options to protect students and taxpayers.¡±

tom.williams@timeshighereducation.com