Students see their fees fears realised

George Osborne, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, revealed this week that students will face higher tuition fees than ever before, presenting the government’s plans for university funding in the Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR).

This announcement came in the wake of Lord Browne’s assessment of higher education funding, which last week advocated the removal of the cap on tuition fees (currently set at £3,250) and thereby opening university tuition to the free market. The Spending Review, the government’s own policy, was vague on many aspects of higher education reform, but announced its plans to “build on Lord Browne’s review of higher education and student finance.”

As confirmed by Nick Clegg this week, it is understood that a cap on tuition fees will definitely remain, but at a much higher level – between £7,000 and £12,000 a year – in order to enable universities to appropriate the fees they charge to the cost of the courses. Until the new tuition fees are introduced for the academic year of 2012, the University of Warwick will have to cope with severely reduced funding from the government.

The argument over tuition fees may provoke disunity within the government, with all Liberal Democrat MPs having signed a pledge to vote against any increase in tuition fees.

The most vocal opposition to these tuition fee rises has come from student bodies. Internet campaigns against tuition fee rises have already gained support numbering tens of thousands, and on 10 November the Students’ Union is also organising for 200 students to travel to London to march against the cuts with others from all over the United Kingdom.

This anger has been amplified at the University of Warwick by the perception that the University’s Chancellor, Richard Lambert, is an important proponent of raising the tuition fees cap. In fact, the University’s position seems completely at odds with the student populace on this issue, with Peter Dunn from the University Press Office claiming that “the only available option the Universities have to replace what they will lose on the CSR is what Lord Browne is recommending to Government,” indicating that the removal of a tuition fee cap altogether would be the University’s preference.

This position has been criticised by several of the SU’s political societies. In Thursday night’s ‘Warwick Question Time’, the Conservative representative Laveen Ladharam repudiated his own party’s position, arguing that large raises in tuition fees would be to the detriment of student welfare. Speakers from the perspective of both the Labour Party and Liberal Democrats echoed these concerns, perhaps indicating an almost universal student opposition to the Browne Review.

The future of the nation’s students now depends on the resolution of the parliamentary disagreements as to how far the state will cut back on higher education funding. Whatever the resolution, it is clear that there wil be tough times ahead for Britain’s students.

Students will likely begin paying the increased tuition fees from 2012.