England could have ‘world’s most expensive’ universities
By Peter Wozniak
Any increase in tuition fees could make England the most expensive country in which to study, a union has claimed.
The University and College Union (UCU) issued a report today arguing that an increase to even £5,000 would see England overtake even America as the most expensive place to go to university.
It is widely suspected that Lord Browne’s report into university funding, due later this year, will recommend an increase in fees, possibly to as much as £7,500 per year, more than doubling the current rate.
Sally Hunt, the UCU’s general secretary warned the government off any rise in tuition fees.
“Students have been contributing more and more to the cost of a degree over recent years and now is the time to explore other options”, she said.
“If the forthcoming review of university funding by Lord Browne just lists ways to squeeze more money out of students and their families then it will have spectacularly failed its remit.”
The issue is a particularly thorny one for the coalition, with the Lib Dems vehemently opposed to tuition fees as a whole – though their agreement with the Tories allows them to abstain on the issue when it goes through the Commons.
Nevertheless some Lib Dem MPs have vowed to rebel and vote against the government, including former leader Ming Campbell.
Ms Hunt added: “Lord Browne and the government must look seriously at the idea of taxing big business for the substantial benefits it gains from a plentiful supply of graduates and using that money to expand, rather than reduce, opportunity to study.”
Vince Cable, the business secretary, has promoted the idea of a graduate contribution based on post-university earnings – an idea taken up by the new Labour leader Ed Miliband.
