Cambridge alumni urged to stop gifts over threat of fees

Cambridge graduates have been urged to withhold donations to the university until it promises to rule out huge increases in tuition fees.

The president of the students' union has asked them to boycott the university's fundraising campaigns unless dons resist moves to introduce "top-up fees" which could see charges rise to more than £10,000 a year.

One of Britain's leading universities, Imperial College in London, voted overwhelmingly last Friday to charge up to £10,500 a year in fees if the Government removes the cap of £1,100.

Last year Cambridge received £141m from benefactors, including many donations from former students.

But in an e-mail message sent to Cambridge graduates, Paul Lewis, president of the students' union, urged them to help protect future generations of undergraduates saying: "Unless we act now, Cambridge will be next in line."

The campaign has won the support of Zadie Smith, the bestselling author who graduated from King's College, Cambridge, in 1998. She has added a personal message to the students' union website saying: "Fees of any kind would have made my career in Cambridge an impossibility. The issue is as simple as that. A meritocracy means a meritocracy all the way down the line. Any weakening of that principle will effectively rule out a Cambridge education for hundreds of gifted students."

She said the taxpayer had made a good investment by funding her three years as an English student because she had already repaid the money "47 times over" in taxes since the success of her debut novel, White Teeth.

The Independent revealed last week that ministers are considering three options under their shake-up of higher education to be announced next month: top-up fees, a graduate tax and a substantial across-the-board rise in fees.

But many university leaders are confident the Government will lift the current cap on fees to allow institutions to charge the true costs of providing higher education.

Mr Lewis criticised universities for failing to lobby the Government for extra funding, accusing them of having already "set their sights" on top-up fees. He said: "Potential applicants from under-represented backgrounds are already deterred from Cambridge because of the myth that we are one of the most expensive universities. Top-up fees and privatisation would turn this myth into a reality.

"The benefits and privileges of a Cambridge degree should not be reserved for those who have the money to pay."

A recent report by the university's accounting watchdog warned that Cambridge had run up record debts and was losing money on every student because the cost of their education now far exceeded the grants and fees received for them. "As a consequence the university is spending £16m per year of discretionary income supporting students," the report by the university's Board of Scrutiny concluded.

This summer Andrew Reed, the university's director of finance, admitted that introducing top-up fees of about £4,000 a year would be "one way" of tackling Cambridge's "unsustainable" debts.

But a university spokeswoman said: "At present, the university has no plans to introduce top-up fees. This is a matter for discussion at the national level, since no UK institution will be able to act in isolation. If in future we do consider any changes to student fees, we would remain committed to admitting the most able students regardless of their backgrounds or ability to pay fees."

Within the first 48 hours of the campaign, more than 300 Cambridge graduates had signed an on-line pledge promising not to donate money to their former university until it ruled out top-up fees, Mr Lewis said.