The Social Market Foundation suggests reverting to the 2017 fee level would entail students paying £11,765 (about $15,000) annually, resulting in a significant boost of nearly £3 billion ($3.8 billion) for each year’s cohort.
The Social Market Foundation suggests reverting to the 2017 fee level would entail students paying £11,765 (about $15,000) annually, resulting in a significant boost of nearly £3 billion ($3.8 billion) for each year’s cohort.
James Kirkup, the director of the Social Market Foundation, writing in the Times, suggests UK universities are enrolling more international students due to their higher tuition fees. He proposes raising tuition fees to address the decline in the higher education sector.
UK students are receiving their A-level results, determining their university admissions. This year, increased competition for university spots is expected due to a larger 18-year-old population and international demand.
International students usually pay around £20,000 (about $25,000)while domestic students pay approximately £9,000 (about $11,000) in tuition fees. According to Kirkup, British universities might rely more on tuition fees from foreign students than domestic ones by the end of the decade, posing risks due to dependence on geopolitics and immigration policy.
The Russell Group, representing prestigious institutions, has warned that the freeze on tuition fees for UK students since 2017 has led to a significant decline in their real value.
To address the issue, James Kirkup suggests a straightforward yet challenging solution: increase tuition fees. Reverting to the 2017 fee level would entail students paying £11,765 (about $15,000) annually, resulting in a significant boost of nearly £3 billion about ($3.8 billion) for each year’s cohort. He also proposes a modification to the loan repayment system, such as implementing a tiered repayment rate.
Kirkup further advocates for raising the fee cap while concurrently revitalizing initiatives to foster a degree market. In this proposed model, courses with lower costs or prospects for less remunerative careers would be priced more affordably for students. He acknowledges the complexity of this endeavor but asserts its significance. He believes that higher education requires increased funding, with the burden being shouldered by graduates rather than the broader taxpayer base.
Kirkup acknowledges that his proposed solution may be challenging, but he emphasizes that the alternative is the potential decline of a sector that should ideally be one of Britain’s assets.
England’s Higher Education Minister Robert Halfon has rejected calls to lift the cap on tuition fees despite warnings from university leaders about the consequences of reduced funding.
In a recent interview with Times Higher Education, the minister declared that universities would not be allowed to raise tuition fees amid an economic crisis. He stated emphatically that while some schools may struggle, “not in a million years” will student fees rise.
