Universities UK has proposed raising funds for members, including a ‘reset’ on student maintenance grants and loans.
According to reports, English universities called for fund government funding and an increase in tuition fees to address their current financial crisis.
Universities UK, a representative of 141 academic institutions, has issued proposals to raise funds for its members, including increasing tuition fees amid the budget crisis.
Tuition is free for Scottish students studying in Scotland, but the other UK students pay tuition fees of £9,250. UK students in Wales and England also pay tuition fees of £9,250.
According to the House Commons data, the average student loan debt in England is about £45,600 for students who began their studies in the 2022-2023 academic year and £43,700 for those who began in 2023-2024. This is higher than the average student loan debt of £35,780 in Wales.
According to the proposal proposal seen by the BBC, funding for each student must be between £12,000 and £13,00. However, the group said this does not necessarily mean that the fees will rise to this level, which would rise up to 40%.
Prof Dame Sally Mapstone, the principal of Universities UK, stated that universities are seeking a ‘reset’ with the government on maintenance loans and tuition fees.
She stated, “What we’re looking for from the new government is the opportunity to reset and look across the funding arrangements for fees and with students.
“The major problem with university finance is that for the past eight to nine years, direct government grants and fees haven’t kept up with the cost of teaching and inflation, so more and more institutions are facing a budget deficit overall.
“We think that there needs to be a good dialogue with the government in partnership about the relationship between the direct teaching grant that the government can provide and the fees that students pay.
“We are alert to the fact, of course, that when you say fees should go up, people are alarmed at the consequences for students, which is why we also think that it’s very important that the support that students get in terms of maintenance loans and grants also be looked at.”
Remembering her that the Proposal would mean students taking more loans and piling up more debts. Mapstone, the vice-chancellor of the University of St Andrews, stated: “It undoubtedly is the case that if you learn more, you earn more, and you have to look at the benefit of university education across a lifetime.
“There is very good evidence that if you go to university in your 20s and in your 30s, you will be earning more than if you didn’t. Although the £12,000 to £13,000 figure is very much within our proposals, we are not saying that fees should go up to that.”
