Students are being taught in buildings that are coming to the end of their lifespans, education consultants have said.

They say universities built mainly in the Sixties, such as the University of Sussex at Falmer, need major investment to bring them into the 21st Century.

Officials at the university said that while they agreed substantial funding was needed in higher education to avoid a drop in standards, their buildings were well maintained and up-todate.

According to a report commissioned by Universities UK (UUK), about £5.1 billion is needed to repair, replace and modernise buildings, services, IT networks and libraries at higher education institutions in the UK. Using evidence from 23 universities, the report highlights the difficulties faced by many of them as their post-war buildings reach the end of their design life.

Although the University of Sussex was not one of the examples used, Jim Port, director of JM Consulting, which carried out the research, named Sussex and York as among the institutions whose buildings were largely put up in the Sixties and were now close to the end of their lifespan.

Speaking at a conference for the launch of the report, Mr Port said Sussex was an example of a university whose campus would need investment to ensure it lasted.

But a university spokeswoman said: "The claim that campuses built in the Sixties and Seventies are coming to the end of their lifespans is not correct.

"Some of the university was built in the Sixties, a small amount in the Seventies, Eighties and Nineties and we have building going on at the moment.

"The general accepted lifespan for buildings of this kind is 60 years.

"In terms of the fabric of buildings, which includes things such lifts, lighting and flooring, they are constantly kept up to date.

"We have a ten-year maintenance plan which deals with these things.

"Our director of safety has confirmed no students are being taught in buildings that break health and safety laws.

"If a building was breaking laws, it would have to be closed.

"However, the university does agree that the whole (higher education)

system needs more money for resources and maintenance."

Some of the reports r e c o m m e n d a t i o n s include asking the Government and funding councils to introduce initiatives to support institutions in planning and investing to maintain their physical infrastructure.

It says a capital funding scheme should be available to all institutions on a formula basis.

UUK president Roderick Floud said: "The generic teaching infrastructure underpins all university activity.

"It is crucial to the success of the sector as a whole and without additional investment on the scale indicated, the foundations for future expansion will not be in place. The importance of this investment extends beyond teaching.

"As the recent report has highlighted, a well-resourced teaching environment will also help ensure the supply of top-class researchers for the future."

A spokeswoman for the Department for Education and Skills said:

"We are committed to ensuring higher education institutions have the resources to continue producing world-class graduates.

"That is why we have invested £1.7 billion extra in higher education in England during the six years to 2004."