The Independent University

The basic concept is a fairly simple one—the creation in Britain of an institution of higher education—ultimately a University—outside the system of State provision; that is to say financed by fees and endowments and not by the taxpayer through the University Grants Committee. In present circumstances the idea itself is a radical one since it runs counter to the accepted orthodoxy according to which the State should be the only provider of education and all provision outside the public domain should be regarded as a transient exception to the rule.