ABSTRACT
Lord Robbins and his committee, working from 1961 to 1963, produced the most bulky of all these enquiries. Their field was the pattern of higher educa tion in Great Britain. The authority of this report was buttressed by six volumes of appendices - an early sign of inflation. Robbins discovered the existence of ‘large reservoirs of untapped ability in the population, especially among girls’. It was axiomatic that ‘courses of higher education should be available for all those who are qualified by ability and attainment to pursue them and who wish to do so.’ Expansion of numbers would not be at the expense of achievement or quali ty. There were 216,000 full-time students in higher education in 1962/63 and the figure should rise to 390,000 in 1973/74 and 560,000 in 1980/81. Such a program me would entail major institutional changes - the colleges of advanced technolo gy should be given university status and the colleges of education should come within the orbit of the universities. Government machinery would also have to be adapted and the report favoured one ministry for schools and one for higher education and science.
