Review Recommends No Limit On Tuition Fees

A university funding review has recommended that Universities in England should be able to charge unlimited fees.

The review, carried out by Lord Browne, calls for the £3,290 cap on fees, which students borrow in loans, to be scrapped.

A free market in fees could mean charges up to £12,000 a year for a degree course.

The move was described as "the final nail in the coffin for affordable higher education" by the UCU lecturers' union.

However the review outlines that universities charging more than £6,000 a year would lose a share of the fee to help cover the cost of student borrowing.

Commenting to the BBC, Lord Browne said: "We have taken off the cap but we haven't taken off the restrictions."

He explained that all universities needed various amounts of funding to retain standards, but predicted that few would put fees very high.

The move would see graduates paying back more significantly in their tuition fee and maintenance loans but Lord Brown insisted they would not be left with "mortgage-style debts".

He added: "They would be paying the same interest rate as the government uses to borrow. They will only pay it back when their earnings go above £21,000.

"If you choose to go into a job which doesn't pay very much or if you choose to go out of the workforce to build a family, you won't have to pay it back."

Due to Liberal Democrat MPs in the coalition having signed a pledge to oppose a rise in fees, an agreement is yet to be reached between the two sides.

Having consulted the report, John Denham, Shadow University Secretary said: "This is a massive cut even when set against the coalitions aim to cut spending by 25%. Higher Education is a major driver of growth and innovation and needs sustainable financial support from both the public and private sources."

The report attempts to balance higher charges with support for poorer students.

However a more competitive market could mean that for the first time universities could go out of business.

Paul Marshall, head of the 1994 Group of research-intensive universities, welcomed the review as "the first progressive step" towards increasing funding for universities and "targeting student support more effectively at those in most need".

Chief Executive, Pam Tatlow from the Million+ group of new universities said: "Fees at this level - even if they are backed by state-funded fee loans - will undoubtedly mean that some students who would have gone to university will decide not to go.”

(BMcN)