Much of the bad news in education had already been well-aired before it was confirmed yesterday, writes education reporter Yakub Qureshi.

Pupils and teachers in dozens of schools had already been told to forget about new buildings promised under Labour's cancelled Building Schools For The Future programme.

And prospective students were also aware that they would need to pay annual university fees of at least £6,000.

So the swingeing 40 per cent cuts to higher education funding came as little surprise.

If implemented today – without the associated fee rise – the region’s four universities would instantly lose £117m and be forced to axe nearly 2,000 jobs.

However, the cuts will be phased in over four years, with universities making up lost income with greatly-increased fees. John Brooks, vice-chancellor of MMU, said the changes represented a fundamental shake-up in Britain’s attitude towards gaining a degree.

He said: "This is effectively the privatisation of university education. We will have to work very hard because the doubling of fees will have a disproportionate effect on students from poorer backgrounds.

"Some institutions will struggle with these changes. We believe we are well placed to cope but it doesn’t mean we will not have to do some fine tuning. Some courses may close if they are not successful, but this is something we would look at in any case."

Following heavy lobbying by scientists and hi-tech industries, the coalition agreed not to touch the £4.6bn science research budget. But science bosses said the four-year freeze to the budget equated to an 10 per cent cut in real terms.

On schools, Mr Osborne was at pains to stress that core funding would not be affected – and indeed, would increase fractionally above inflation.

The Lib Dems' much cherished ‘pupil premium’ for inner-city schools was also confirmed, and could bring an extra £2,800 for every child from a deprived family.

But the Department for Education was only able to confirm that the cash would be paid direct to schools, and would be based on the number of

students on free school meals.

It could potentially bring a huge windfall to Manchester - where a third of pupils receive the meals - and an extra £185m for schools in the wider region.

The greatest threat to local schools will be the 28pc cuts to council budgets. Town halls employ hundreds of staff who support schools in a huge range of areas – providing specialist services such as psychologists, truancy experts and even music teachers. Avis Gilmore, regional organiser for the NUT, said: "Funding for these services has not been protected. There are many teachers who could still lose their jobs despite the promise on school funding."

Further education colleges face cuts of 25pc, with cash for adult education and English-as-a-second-language courses among the targeted areas.

Educational Maintenance Allowance (EMA) grants - which provide students aged 16-18 with up to £30 a week - would also be abolished and replaced with an as-yet unspecified payment.

Mr Osborne said Sure Start services would not be cut – although the service faces a four-year cash freeze.

Disadvantaged families will also be eligible to 15 hours of free care for youngsters as young as two.

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