British degree system 'rotten', 'unreliable'

Here's some dampening news for those aspiring to study in British varsities "" their degree system is 'rotten' and 'unreliable'. According to Quality Assurance Agency (QAA), the university watchdog in Britain, the 200-year-old system of first, second and third class degrees is 'meaningless' with grades based on 'arbitrary and unreliable' measures.

"The way that degrees are classified is a rotten system. It just doesn't work any more," QAA's Chief Executive Peter Williams was quoted by The Daily Telegraph as saying.

In the QAA report, he has pointed out that the influx of foreign students in British varsities is actually pushing standards down because they expect their tuition fees would automatically buy them a degree.

Many British universities employ agents for recruiting students abroad. While fees of students in the United Kingdom are capped, those coming from the overseas pay much more.

"There's a belief from some overseas students that if they pay their fees, they will get a degree. We have to make clear that does not operate here," the British daily quoted Williams as saying.

In addition, the QAA report has highlighted how in some institutions, particularly in London, overseas students accounted for up to 30 per cent of undergraduates. In fact, in one unnamed institution, the proportion was 40 per cent.

The report has also flayed measures for dealing with plagiarism as well as the use of external examiners.