The Lord Browne Report has suggested measures to raise tuition fees to £12,000 a year for courses, creating a free market in education. This comes with recomendations for cuts in funding to teaching and research amounting to £4.3bn in total, and nearly 80% of the teaching budget for UK Universities to be slashed.
This is completely unacceptable in the current climate, needing strong economic growth and a labour market for the future of our economy.
Liberal Democrats have strongly campaigned against any rise in fees and in government, have suggested compromises to our coalition partners of after-study graduate contributions, in contrary to our party policy of tuition being paid under general taxation.
The University and Colleges Union, the Social Liberal Forum, the National Union of Students and Million + (the University thinktank) have all displayed concern that student debts could rise to £80,000 and that we could see a two tier higher education system.
We call on Vince Cable, the Business Secretary responsible for Universities to take into account both the impact of higher fees on students from poorer backgrounds, the need to fill the gap in Higher Education funding, and the overwhelming opposition from within both his own party and outside of it to raising fees.
This petition will be combined with that of national Liberal Youth and will also be delivered personally to Vince by delegates from Reading at the Eastbourne regional conference on October 23rd.
Please sign below.
Dear Mr. Cable,
The Lord Browne Report published this month suggests tuition fees should rise beyond £12,000 a year for courses, creating a free market in higher education. There are also recommendations that higher earning graduates pay a premium, which could lead to a brain drain in the economy; and that wealthy students can pay their fees in advance to avoid this premium, targeting high achievers from poorer backgrounds that may be put off from applying all together (a similar conclusion was reached from a recent study by the University of Leciester demonstrating that increasing fees to this level is unlikely to reduce the number of applicants, but may put off poorer students from applying).
Liberal Democrats have strongly campaigned against any rise in fees, following a long held commitment to tuition being paid through general taxation. In government, our Party have suggested compromises to our coalition partners of after-study graduate contributions.
We the undersigned, urge you to carefully consider the impact of higher fees on students from poorer backgrounds, the need to fill the gap in Higher Education funding, and the overwhelming opposition from within both the Liberal Democrats and outside of the Party to raising fees.
We urge Liberal Democrat ministers that have signed the National Union of Students pledge to stand by their commitments to not increase fees in this parliament, and to listen to the concerns of the University and Colleges Union, the Social Liberal Forum, the National Union of Students and Million + (the University thinktank) that student debts could rise to £80,000 and that we could see a two tier higher education system should this fee rise go ahead.
Yours sincerely,