Raising university tuition fees would be ‘unpalatable’, Education Secretary says

Raising university tuition fees would be “unpalatable”, Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said, as she pledged to reform the current system.

University leaders have been calling on the new Government to raise the annual tuition fee for domestic students in line with inflation to help institutions struggling financially.

The previous government raised the cap on university tuition fees in England to £9,000 a year in 2012 but it has been fixed at £9,250 since 2017.

Asked whether tuition fee caps would be increased in the next five years, Ms Phillipson told Sky News: “I do recognise the challenge, and I hear that message from institutions as well, but I think that’s a really unpalatable thing to be considering.

“Not least because I know that lots of students across the country are already facing big challenges around the cost of living, housing costs, lots of students I speak to who are already working lots of jobs, extra hours, in order to pay for their studies.”

Ms Phillipson added that the Government does intend to “reform the system overall”.

Education think tank EDSK has argued that tuition fees in England should be reduced to £6,000 a year to make post-18 education “more equitable” for students.

“A reduction in the fee cap to £6,000 would significantly reduce the income of HE (Higher Education) providers if nothing else changed,” the think tank’s paper acknowledged.

Speaking to ITV’s Good Morning Britain, Ms Phillipson said: “I’m not happy with the system I’ve inherited, and I do want to reform that system.

“I’ve been looking at all of the options around this, I will continue to review that.

“We’re little more than a month into this new Government, and this is a really big and complex area where if we want to drive change, we need to make sure we get this right, so we will review it, I want to make sure it’s a fairer system overall for our students.

“And there are big challenges that our institutions, our universities, are facing at the moment where it comes to their finances, and that’s why I’ve taken immediate action as Secretary of State to refocus the work of the regulator, the Office for Students, to make sure that our universities are on a much firmer footing and succeed into the long run.”

A University UK (UUK) spokesperson said: “Government and university leaders must work together to ensure one of the UK’s greatest assets can continue to deliver for the country.

“For universities this should include making efficiencies where possible, and this is why you see many making cuts. The fee cap should also be index linked to stop the decline in fee income, and maintenance support improved for students.”