Could be wrong but
I got the impression it was to encourage sponsorship from industry. At the moment the unversities have a minimum percentage of UK students on courses and then try to stuff every other place above the minimum with higher-rate paying foreign students. If industry sponsored the higher rate places, then the universities could afford to take on more UK based students. There is a big difference in the reporting across the Guardian - Telegraph spectrum. The truth is probably somewhere in the middle.
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nameleft has bought a new telescope, Tue 10 May 2011, 9:53,
Reply)