University degrees face being drastically stripped back if the Conservatives win the next election, with dozens of courses at risk of being axed.
As many as one in eight university degree places could be scrapped under the plans, with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak accusing universities of "ripping young people off".
He wants to see the worst-performing university courses replaced with high-skilled apprenticeships if the Conservatives stay in power after the General Election.
Sunak said his party is offering young people “the employment opportunities and financial security they need to thrive” as he seeks to narrow Labour’s double-digit lead in the polls.
University degrees face being drastically stripped back if the Conservatives wint he next election, with dozens of courses at risk of being axed
PA
The law would be changed to give England’s universities watchdog new powers to shut down courses deemed as underperforming.
The PM said: “Improving education is the closest thing we have to a silver bullet for boosting life chances.
"So it’s not fair that some university courses are ripping young people off.
“Thanks to our plan, apprenticeships are much higher quality than they were under Labour.
"And now we will create 100,000 more, by putting an end to rip-off degrees and offering our young people the employment opportunities and financial security they need to thrive."
The changes could result in around 130,000 university places being cut, something the Tories have said could save the taxpayer £910 million by the end of the decade.
An additional 5.8 million apprenticeships have been delivered under Conservative governments since 2010, with 340,000 starting in 2022/23, the Conservatives have said.
But Labour pointed out that apprenticeship achievements among under-19s are down 50 per cent since 2015/16, while starts have dropped by at least 30 per cent in every English region.
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Shadow Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said: "It is laughable that the Tories, who have presided over a halving of apprenticeships for young people, are now announcing this."
Meanwhile, Liberal Democrat education spokeswoman Munira Wilson said: "The shockingly low pay for those on apprenticeships will remain, doing nothing to encourage more people to take apprenticeships up or tackle soaring drop-out rates."
