Universities call for tuition fees to increase - but students say it's unfair for them to 'foot the bill'

• Universities UK says universities are now losing money educating UK students, and tuition fees may need to rise.
• Students in England currently pay a maximum £9,250 a year in fees.
• But to keep up with inflation, funding per student needs to be about £12-13,000.
• Students and some politicians, however, say increasing fees will only increase the burden on more vulnerable learners.

A group representing UK universities says tuition fees need to go up to save the sector, but students fear heaping fees back on them will only increase hardship.

Tuition fees are currently capped for undergraduate university courses at £9,250 per year for students in England - a level set in 2017 - with most charging close to the limit. But students who take out loans to cover their fees will quickly start accumulating interest they also need to pay back, at a rate of about 8% per year.

Now Universities UK has told the BBC that they need tuition fees to go up in line with inflation, and they also need more funding from the government. The organisation has shared a series of proposals with the broadcaster, which it says are urgently needed to stop the whole sector from a “slide into decline”.

But while there is general agreement that the current system isn’t working, some are still calling for tuition fees to be abolished altogether - saying passing the buck to student borrowers isn’t the answer.

Here’s what you need to know:

The case for raising tuition fees

The Universities UK’s upcoming proposal says that currently, universities are losing money by educating domestic students, the BBC reports. “That deficit has grown year on year... We have to halt that.”

In the advocacy group’s proposals, which the broadcaster says is targeted at tuition fees in England, it claims that if investment in teaching students had kept up with inflation, “funding per student would be in the region of £12,000-£13,000.”

Another one of the group’s proposals was “working to secure well managed, sustainable international student numbers”. International students usually pay higher fees, but the number applying to UK universities has noticeably dropped this year. Other proposals reported by the BBC include increasing maintenance loans and support for students from lower income backgrounds.

In the mean time, universities say they are increasingly under-resourced, with workloads for staff increasing, and leadership warning the quality of education provided could go down if the situation isn’t righted. This could mean larger class sizes, fewer lectures, and less equipment for practical subjects.

An analysis released by the Office for Students back in May said that an increasing number of universities in England faced “a material risk of closure”, the Guardian reports. Some 40% were expected to run a budget deficit this year, and the regulator forecasted that some four out of five institutions could be in the red by 2027.

Chief executive Susan Lapworth said most universities were still fighting to protect the quality of their courses and interests of their students, but for many, something had to give. “They are taking difficult, but necessary, decisions about the shape and size of their institution. They are working with others on mergers or centralised services.”

The case against it

In a statement, National Union of Students vice president Alex Stanley added: “Students must not be expected to foot the bill for the university funding crisis. Increasing tuition fees would only up the debt burden on students, especially those from the poorest backgrounds, and further punish students who are investing in their futures and the future of the country.

“Our institutions clearly need more money, but so too do students.” Maintenance funding had also failed to keep up with inflation, he claimed, leaving some students with just 50p to live on per week after rent and bills. “The crisis impacting university finances is the same that is driving students into poverty in increasing numbers.”

There have been varying levels of support for getting rid of tuition fees altogether from political leaders. Current Prime Minister Keir Starmer previously said he planned to abolish tuition fees if elected, but later dropped the pledge - saying the government couldn’t afford both that and fixing the NHS, the Guardian reports.

Reacting to the proposal to raise tuition fees, Green Party co-leader Carla Denyer said that introducing them at all had proven to be a disaster, and “they should be scrapped”.

“Universities are a public good that we all benefit from, and yet the introduction of tuition fees has forced the higher education sector to focus on profit making rather than the broader public benefits. At the same time, it has created a funding gap which risks universities going bankrupt, which would create turmoil for students, staff and local economies alike,” she said.

From the perspective of students, student fees meant that graduates were having to pay “extortionate” interest rates on their loans, Denyer continued, creating “a regressive system whereby students from the wealthiest families don’t need to take out a loan and therefore don’t pay”.

“We all benefit from a thriving higher education sector and a well-educated workforce. Rather than doubling down on this failed policy and increasing student debt, the government should abolish tuition fees, as Keir Starmer pledged to do when he ran as Labour leader.”

Do you think tuition fees for domestic students should rise, be abolished, or stay as they are? Have your say and make your voice heard by leaving a comment below.