Universities’ main purpose is no longer learning, the higher education minister has said, as he calls for a greater focus on mental health issues.

Sam Gyimah said that universities must give deliver emotional support for students alongside academic courses in order to “fulfil [their] purpose”.

Asked whether university staff should be responsible for students’ pastoral care, he said: “I think the crux of this issue is that some traditional vice-chancellors see the prime purpose of their university as training of the mind. This is no longer the case.

“In fact, it’s about so much more. The pastoral care for students has to be there as well for a university to fulfil its full purpose.”

He told Centre Write, the quarterly magazine of the think-tank Bright Blue, that universities should be acting "in loco parentis", but added that this "doesn’t mean infantilising students - it is about ensuring they have the right services available to them”.