There has always been a work culture among the student population, traditionally involving part-time or seasonal jobs to top up the grant and provide a bit of extra spending money.

That, though, was in the days before grants were replaced by student loans and before tuition fees were introduced. Now, it seems, a growing number of students are having to work to eat. And the jobs in some cases are full-time, with the students working all night as security guards or care assistants and then trying to study by day.

Others at Bradford University are said to be missing lectures to work shifts at call centres. This can hardly help their prospects of making the best of their further education.

The life of a student seems to be a matter these days of seeking money rather than knowledge. It is hardly surprising that the authorities at Bradford are concerned at the growing number who are getting into financial difficulties and are having to appeal to the university's hardship fund.

The dire straits in which students are finding themselves is particularly relevant in a city like Bradford, where only a limited number of families can afford to fund their sons and daughters to the extent that is now necessary. With that safety net not available to them, students face two options: either give up their studies or take on the jobs necessary to underwrite them.

If this situation is allowed to continue, higher education will increasingly become once again the preserve of the well-off or those who can secure themselves a wealthy patron.