In an interview with the Guardian, Willetts claimed that students' degree courses were a "a burden on the taxpayer that had to be tackled".
His comments come despite telling NUS Higher Education Zone Conference in October that the "case has not been made" for lifting the cap.
Aaron Porter, NUS President-elect, said:
“Students will graduate owing an average of £23,500 and David Willetts' suggestion that students and families have somehow misunderstood the nature of student debt beggars belief. Students and their families aren't stupid and voters expect the government to be reducing student debt, not simply "rebranding" it"
“Mr Willetts says that students are a burden on the taxpayer, dangerously undervaluing the benefit of higher education to society and yet students are the innovators, professionals and public servants that will drive the economic recovery of the UK and to abandon them now will severely damage the country for many years to come. The financial contribution made by students in this country is already significantly higher than that in others and opinion polls consistently show that the public is unequivocally opposed to further increases in tuition fees.”
“Students and their parents will not stand idly by as the Government asks them to pay more for education while making huge cuts to funding. They will not accept the introduction of a damaging market in education that means all but the most privileged see it as prohibitively expensive to go to university.”
NUS also criticised warned that greater flexibility for higher education should not be used to recreate a two tier higher education system.
Aaron Porter added:
"Whilst we welcome more flexible options for the delivery of HE, suggesting that some students stay at home to reduce costs suggests that the full university experience is the privilege of the rich and an impoverished, lonely and unfulfilling experience for everyone else."