Oxford University delivers stinging verdict on higher education reforms

Oxford University has formally declared it has "no confidence" in the policies of the universities minister, David Willetts, in the first sign of a concerted academic backlash against the government's higher education reforms.

Lecturers passed a motion opposing the coalition's policies by 283 votes to five at a meeting of the congregation, Oxford's legislative body. The university is the first to take a public stand against the raising of tuition fees and slashing of the teaching grant, but the rebellion is spreading. Cambridge is expected to announce a date for a "no confidence" vote on Monday, while a petition against the government is gathering force at Warwick University....

Robert Gildea, the Oxford historian who proposed the motion, described the coalition's reforms as "reckless, incoherent and incompetent". He warned that proposals to introduce "off-quota" student places, funded privately rather than through state-backed loans, and AC Grayling's plan for a new private university heralded the arrival of a "two-track" admissions system....