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March 17 Higher tuition fees: pricing students out of education? (Image © PA)
What’s happening?
Many universities in England and Wales want to raise tuition fees from their current capped level of £3,500 to as much as £20,000 per year to help cover costs – a move that could prompt students, particularly those from low-income backgrounds, to abandon higher education in droves, according to new research.
What are people saying?
In one study, more than 50% of university heads, speaking anonymously, told the BBC they want students to pay at least £5,000 a year, or for there to be no upper limit on fees. A separate report commissioned by Universities UK said students would begin to turn their backs on higher education if annual fees were raised to £7,000, but wouldn’t react if they were raised to £5,000. The National Union of Students (NUS) warned annual fees of £7,000 would saddle graduates in 2016 with debts of £32,000 – more than double the average total debt predicted by Universities UK for graduates in 2011.
Why should we give a damn?
In 1997, when Sir Ron Dearing’s landmark report into the future of education concluded students would have to help pay university costs, undergraduates took to the streets in 14 cities to protest that fees would deter young people from low-income families from going to university. Today’s findings have renewed the debate about how to maintain the nation’s higher education standards just five years after tuition fees sparked one of the biggest backbench rebellions faced by the Labour government. NUS president Wes Streeting told the BBC: "In the context of the current recession, it is extremely arrogant for university vice chancellors to be fantasising about charging their students even higher fees and plunging them into over £32,000 of debt." The Tories have dropped their opposition, but accuse the government – which has yet to comment – of delaying its review of the system. Backbench rebels, however, are already mobilising: MP Paul Farelly warned the government would ignore the risks “at its peril”.
Your thoughts?
P.S. Apologies for the prolonged absence. Went on annual leave, but forgot to tell you beforehand. Senior moment... Comments (132)
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