THIS mornings decision to scrap a proposed $2000 cap on self-education expenses has been unanimously praised. Belinda Robinson, CEO of Universities Australia, said people could now get on with their professional development plans for next year "without the prospect of an effective 30 - 54 per cent price hike." "This is a victory for common sense," she said. Fred Hilmer, chairman of the Group of Eight universities, said the cap would have had a devastating impact on university revenues, just as $3 billion in funding cuts were taking hold. It simply made no sense to discourage people from pursuing further education when we need a highly skilled workforce and improvements to national productivity. As the government notes in today's announcement, the economic cost to the nation would have been substantial. Geoff Garrett, dean of business at the University of NSW said the decision meant cost increases of "up to 40 per cent in the effective price working professionals would have had to pay for pursuing postgraduate study" would be avoided. But Barney Glover, chairman of the Innovative Research Universities Group, said questions still remained over other decisions taken by the previous government. "We now wait on the government's decisions concerning the efficiency dividend and the transformation of student scholarships into loans, both of which require legislation this year if they are to be implemented from 2014," he said.