Recognise and support Welsh higher education as the anchor of a prosperous Wales

Higher education is the anchor of any prosperous society, by providing the skills and knowledge to create, equip, and sustain a modern, innovation-based economy. Wales is lucky to have numerous world-class universities and colleges, in all regions of the country. And in addition to equipping the future economy, they are critical to the current economy as well. A recent report found that jobs supported by higher education sector contribute more to Wales' economy than the entire tourism industry. Higher education in Wales needs real support from the Welsh government. Whilst, admirably, the Welsh government for years capped student fees and paid thousands of pounds for each student topping up the difference, they did not restrict this for study at Welsh universities. This meant that hundreds of millions of pounds of Welsh taxpayer monies were spent at better-resourced English universities, rather than spent in investing in our own institutions of higher education. A future Plaid Cymru government needs to recognise that we can't build a prosperous country if the best and the brightest do not stay here. To that effect, they must incentivise students to study in Wales, which will directly and indirectly create jobs and opportunities for work here, helping create a sustainable, equitable, forward-looking, and technologically modern society.