Truly good news.

Philanthropy is a wonderful thing.

Michael Moritz and Harriet Heyman, on Wednesday announced that they were to donate 75m to Oxford University to help ensure that the poorest 10% of students would not suffer from the ridiculous rise in student fees from £3,500 per year to £9,000 which will take effect this September. 

Moritz has stated that he owed his success to the generosity of others, having graduated from Christ Church, Oxford. Inspired by the opportunities that were provided for both he and his father, who was removed from Nazi Germany as a teenager, Moritz was able to acquire and hone a fantastic sense of business acumen thanks to the grants that were available to students, such as himself, that excel in academia regardless of background. 

This donation, the largest ever to an institution of higher education in Europe, is, in my humble opinion a fine example of the altruism we, as a species,  possess. Michael Moritz hopes for a future in which philanthropy can fund underprivileged students, which is timely given the distinct lack of government funding to do so. 

However, there is an argument that questions why it is the Moritz-Heyman donations are solely focused on one academic institution. This is perfectly understandable, many other universities (my own included) I am sure would welcome a donation just 10% of what has been given to Oxford, however Moritz's loyalties lie with his place of study and this is, of course, to be expected. One just hopes that this donation will pioneer the philanthropic movement Moritz hopes for and will prevent the inevitable elitism the enormous increase in tuition fees will create.

Alas, I feel that perhaps grants such as these should not be the responsibility of philanthropic billionaires but the duty of the government to ensure that the decision as to whether or not an individual can attend university is never a financial one. At the very least however, we can be thankful that there are people who believe in allowing the under privileged to be privy to equal opportunity in education.

Michael Moritz, I salute you. 

Joel