By Kara Evans
Since the early end of summer, universities crippled with the financial implications of frozen tuition fees have been clawing at the doors of Downing Street. A group of 141 universities across England have sparked a controversial debate between students and staff, arguing that higher tuition fees and direct government funding are needed to halt a growing deficit across higher education institutions.
The government has seemingly sided with the universities, committing to creating “a secure future for world-leading universities.” Prospective students have been unsurprisingly disappointed by this response and the added possibility of higher debt in a system which continuously disadvantages poorer students. Student Finance England (SFE) already behaves as a deterrent on the pathway to higher education, the government will only be adding salt to the wound if they place the financial burden universities are facing onto the shoulders of struggling students.
"While the government is happy to see students plummet into endless holes of debt, the Prime Minister is sitting comfortably on over £100,000 worth of freebies."
Just four years ago, Sir Keir Starmer was pledging to scrap tuition fees in his successful race for Labour leadership, only to abandon the promise months later in true political fashion. Government siding with the possibility of tuition fee increases has made it inadvertently obvious that Starmer and his Labour Party are comfortable sitting in the pockets of universities. Saddling poorer students with greater lifelong debt is a Conservative stance through and through. But hey, red and blue are practically the same if we take a closer look at those perched on Parliament’s benches.
Despite the education secretary ruling out the possibility of tuition fee hikes in July, plans suggest that the government will increase fees by 13.5% over the next five years. This could mean raising fees to £10,500 per year in line with inflation. A “source” told the Mail, the government is considering the universities' demands, pending approval from Rachel Reeves.
Those opposed to the proposals, like Save the Student, have pointed to other routes which could be used to remedy universities’ income. The Higher Education Policy Institute (HEPI) has played into the debate by proposing an increase in taxes or some kind of levy for employers who benefit from skilled and trained graduates. Numerous organisations have agreed that a rise in tuition fees is not an effective solution to counteract the real-term cuts to universities’ income. If tuition fees rise universities will continue to feel the financial implications with many students being expected to write off the possibility of a university education altogether because of hiked costs.
The government's plans, however, could include the reintroduction of maintenance grants worth up to £3,500 for poorer students, a benefit previously removed by the Conservative government in 2016. This has left room for speculation on how bad a tuition fee increase would really be.
The greatest danger of increased fees is not that students will have to pay back significantly more in repayments; half of students would remain unaffected while those who are would be paying back more over a longer period. Rather, the real danger would be that the potential for higher lifetime repayments would put off young people from disadvantaged backgrounds from going to university altogether. Aversion to debt is significantly higher among students from lower-income families, the real consequences will see the future of social mobility crumble as university fees are perceived as prohibitively high.
While the government is happy to see students plummet into endless holes of debt, the Prime Minister is sitting comfortably on over £100,000 worth of freebies. With 41% of 18-24-year-olds voting for Labour at the general election earlier this year, you would think Starmer would be patting us on the back rather than giving any consideration to a solution that will push students into greater financial uncertainty.
Image: Flickr
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