Marcus Greville, London
On January 27, Britain's Labour government will attempt to introduce variable tuition fees for university education. Labelled "top-up" fees, it is the latest move to shift the cost of higher education to students. However, there is opposition among Labour MPs and some commentators are predicting that the measure may not be passed in the House of Commons.
Under the scheme, universities will be allowed to charge for courses up to an initial limit of £3000 per year. Similar to the Australian Higher Education Contribution Scheme, the fees will not not be paid up front; students will repay over time after graduation. Graduates will have to begin making repayments once their annual earnings reach £15,000.
At the moment, university students in Britain pay a maximum tuition fee (depending on their parents' income) of £1125. These fees were introduced by Prime Minister Tony Blair's "New Labour" government in 1997.
The amount of the top-up fee to be charged for each course is to be set by each university. This paves the way for the introduction of a two-tiered system of higher education. Once the cap on the level of fees is removed or revised, universities will be able to charge for courses at market rates.
The government claims that universities are suffering an estimated £11 billion operating-cost shortfall. The amount expected to be collected from the new fees will only be £1 billion. The government has no answer to where the rest of the money will come from.
Most universities have already indicated they will charge the maximum £3000 per course. Some of the elite institutions are already clamouring for the cap to be swiftly lifted. Blair claims a fixed fee for all universities would be an inequitable straightjacket for the higher education sector.
Describing top-up fees as a "radical extension of opportunity" in tune with Labour's core values, Blair argues that the deferred method of payment is the fairest as it enables access to higher education by students of all backgrounds.
Student organisations argue that a debt burden of more than £10,000 (A$25,000) will discourage students from poorer families from attending university.
In Canada and Australia, the proportion of students from poorer backgrounds decreased after the introduction of tuition fees. In contrast, when Ireland abolished fees the participation rate of poorer students jumped.
A minimum of 82 Labour MPs in the House of Commons must vote against the fees for it to be defeated. At least 100 Labour MPs have signalled their intention to do so.
From Green Left Weekly, January 28, 2004.
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