Tuition Fess May be Replaced By Graduate Tax

Fri, 16 Jul 2010

Graduates could be forced to pay more for their university education in the future under new plans being considered by the government.

Business Secretary Vince Cable said higher graduate contributions are the "only possible way forward" to make the higher education system fairer and sustainable for the future.

Speaking at London’s South Bank University, Mr Cable said: "The reality is we are going to have to develop a model in which the balance of funding for higher education in England combines less public support and more private investment from those who benefit most from it."

"I don't want to see the quality of universities cut, we don't want to narrow the opportunities for young people to go to university, so therefore the only possible way forward is by having a bigger graduate contribution. The issue then is how you do it fairly."

Mr Cable said he has asked former BP boss Lord Browne, who is leading a review into student funding, to look into proposals for a graduate tax, whereby students would not take out loans to pay tuition fees, but would instead repay the cost of higher education through premiums based on their earnings once they start working.

He later acknowledged that some graduates are likely to end up repaying more than under the current scheme.
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