Universities announce hike in fees above £9,000 threshold
Higher student debts arising from this story will inevitably make it even more difficult for graduates from rural areas to find a place of their own to live in the countryside….. I personally feel saddling our brightest with a debt of approaching £30,000 is an onerous enough disincentive without making it even more expensive to be a student. This sorry tale tells us:
English universities have already announced hikes in fees above the £9,000 limit before official permission to do so as they stand accused of ‘arrogance’.
This means that from this autumn hundreds of thousands of teenagers looking to go to university after finishing their A-levels will potentially be charged £9,250 for 2017 for the first time.
Durham, Kent and Royal Holloway websites are already advertising courses with the new increase.
It followed warnings at the House of Commons that students could be hit with ‘significant rises’.
A higher education bill is being currently debated as ministers want to officially link the quality of teaching with an increase in fees.
The move was widely expected after the new quality assessment was officially passed much later on.
However, universities are advertising new tuition fees before the framework being officially in existence.
John Pugh, Liberal Democrat education spokesman, attacked the “disgraceful arrogance from some universities”.
Those announcing increases are assuming the bill will passed before parliament and that they will meet all the requirements when it comes to show excellence in teaching, experts said.