Over two thirds of students ‘will be put off’ by top up fees
The Liberal Democrats have revealed the results of a survey which shows that top up fees may stop 67% of students going to university.
The survey of nearly 2,500 sixteen year olds found that pupils from poorer backgrounds are even less likely to consider university because of the costs while 53% of students who are planning to go to university said that cost will now influence which course they will enrol in.
The government plans to allow universities to raise tuition fees up to a ceiling of £3,000 a year from September 2006. At the moment students in England pay £1,100 a year, although about a third of dependent students pay nothing because the fees are means-tested.
Liberal Democrat shadow education secretary, Phil Willis said that the survey was ‘damning evidence’ that Labour’s policy will hit students from poorer backgrounds hardest.
‘The right to a good education should be based on ability, not ability to pay. The Government’s ill-conceived tuition and top-up fees jeopardise the future of British higher education. If today’s 16 year olds have been put off going to university by current Government proposals, their present commitment to education will have been damaged,’ he explained.
The Liberal Democrats say that they would abolish tuition fees and top up fees and instead establish an entitlement programme which guarantees free tuition for everyone who earns a higher education place. They would fund this by making income tax more progressive.
