The Trades Union Congress has rejected an emergency motion from lecturers' union Natfhe that attacked Government proposals to siphon off money generated by tuition fees to cover bureaucracy.
The General Purposes Committee of the TUC, which met for its annual congress in Brighton this week, did not deem the Natfhe bid worthy of a separate emergency motion, and asked Natfhe's senior official, Derek Betts, to raise the issue as part of his speech during the main education debate.
The THES reported last month that the money from students' fees would not go directly to universities, and the Government's contribution to fees would be reduced, have provoked outrage.
A Natfhe spokeswoman said the TUC response was disappointing. "We felt very strongly that delegates should be made aware that the Government has gone against the recommendations of Dearing with plans to claw back money from the universities for the Treasury. As far as we're concerned, it is an emergency," she said.