Uni fees report worries students

The Independent Review of Higher Education Funding and Student Finance, published by Lord Browne, suggests the current £3,290 cap on fees should be lifted, allowing institutions to charge their own fees for courses up to £12,000.

Lord Browne says universities should persuade students to pay more in order to get more as “money follows the student” in an attempt to increase student numbers by 10 per cent over the next three years.

Currently, funding for higher education is shared between students and the treasury, but the Browne review suggests a move towards privatising the industry which students say shows the government is turning its back on future professionals.

They fear the move will put people off attending university.

The report, published last week, says the government will underwrite fees of up to £6,000. After that universities would pay a tapered levy to cover government costs of providing students with finance up front.

It adds institutions charging more than £6,000 a year will keep smaller amounts of that fee, giving examples up to £12,000 a year where universities will keep 73 per cent of the fee.

President of the Students’ Union at the University of Huddersfield Matt Christie said: “It is difficult to see how students should be expected to pay more money when the government is looking to give universities less funding.

“We cannot accept that students should pay more when quality remains the same.”

But the students say there are positive suggestions in the report, including proposals to allow more financial support for part-time students who currently have to pay fees up front.

It also suggests student loan repayments should begin once graduates earn more than £21,000, rather than the current £15,000, and any outstanding loan would be written off after 30 years.