Responding to calls from universities to increase tuition fees to solve the higher education funding deficit, Alex Stanley, Vice President Higher Education at the National Union of Students (NUS UK), said:
“Students must not be expected to foot the bill for the university funding crisis. Increasing tuition fees would only up the debt burden on students, especially those from the poorest backgrounds, and further punish students who are investing in their futures and the future of the country.
“Our institutions clearly need more money, but so too do students. The failure of maintenance funding to keep up with inflation has left the average student in England with just 50p to live on per week after rent and bills. The crisis impacting university finances is the same that is driving students into poverty in increasing numbers.
“So let’s be clear: increases to university funding must be done hand in hand with increases to student maintenance funding. Rather than turning to the easy option of increasing fees, the sector and government must find a sustainable solution, starting by balancing public and private investment in higher education – currently just 16% of funding per student comes from the public sector.”
