What are the charitable objects of a higher education corporation?
The objects of a higher education corporation (HEC) can be inferred from the Education Reform Act 1988, section 124 of which sets out the powers of an HEC. These include powers ‘to provide higher education’, ‘to provide further education’ and ‘to carry out research and to publish the results of the research’. Section 124 refers to ‘powers’ rather than ‘objects’. But it is reasonable to infer that they are powers in the nature of objects. They can be distinguished from other powers of HECs also set out in section 124 that enable them, for example, to provide facilities and enter into contracts. Paragraph 1 of Schedule 12 of the same Act made HECs exempt charities. So the objects set out in section 124 are the charitable objects of HECs.
