The administration of Prime Minister Keir Starmer in the United Kingdom (UK) will raise university tuition fees for the first time in eight years, a report by The Telegraph said on Monday.
The Education Secretary of the university, Bridget Phillipsonhe will announce the increase which will see tuition fees rise in line with the Retail Price Index inflation.
The fee rise is expected to come into force from September 2025, meaning that it will affect A-level students who are currently applying to universities.
Tuition fees have remained frozen at £9,250 since 2017. It is unclear which month’s inflation figures Labour will choose to link fees to, but matching them to the current rate of 2.7 per cent would see fees rise to about £9,500 from next year.
The move follows growing concerns that many institutions are now facing a financial crisis, with 40 per cent of English universities expecting to slump into a deficit this year.
Vivienne Stern, the chief executive of Universities UK (UUK), told The Telegraph in September that the Government must step in to “stabilise the ship”, as she called for fees to rise in line with inflation from 2025/26 as a “necessary” step.
She said: “Just get on and index-link the fee – this cannot be allowed to continue. That’s the bare minimum – you know, you can’t go on like this.”
UUK’s proposals suggest that if investment for university teaching had kept up with inflation, funding per student would now be in the region of £12,000 to £13,000.
Follow the Parallel Facts channel on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaCQSAoHgZWiDjR3Kn2E
