A report entitled ‘First Class? Challenges and opportunities for the UK’s university sector’ said that middle class students should be denied loans to cover tuition fees and living costs so that bright poor pupils do not lose out.
Aaron Porter, NUS Vice President for Higher Education, dismissed the proposal. “In the middle of a recession, it makes absolutely no sense to propose that hard working parents should stump up over £3,000 a year in university fees," he said. "This would amount to forcing parents to gamble on their children’s future.
“Clearly, the sector is having problems meeting demand because of the Government’s placing a cap on admissions. However, the answer is not to force swathes of the student population to pay for tuition fees upfront.
The government is due to begin a review of student finance later this year, which will look at raising the tuition fee cap. Aaron Porter commented that the forthcoming review of university funding must look at alternatives to the disastrous current system of top up fees.
"University should be free at the point of use, with graduates contributing to the system according to their income," he said. "This would generate the funds needed to maintain standards and widen participation, while preventing poorer students from being priced out of more prestigious institutions.”
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The IPPR Report entitled ‘First Class? Challenges and opportunities for the UK’s university sector’