Students should face higher university fees to tackle a funding black hole in the sector, the president of Universities UK said yesterday.
Professor Dame Sally Mapstone, head of the organisation representing 141 institutions, also called for more taxpayers cash to stop some going bust.
It followed claims that index-linked tuition fees would have reached up to £13,000 by now – around 40 per cent more than their current maximum level.
Domestic students fees were capped at £9,250 in 2017 after being tripled to £9,000 in 2012. The average student loan debt in England is about £45,600 for those who started their course in 2022.
But Universities UK (UUK) said that tuition fees and government grants have not kept pace with rising costs, causing budget deficits for some.
Domestic students fees were capped at £9,250 in 2017 after being tripled to £9,000 in 2012. (Stock image)
Professor Dame Sally Mapstone (pictured), head of the organisation representing 141 institutions, also called for more taxpayers cash to stop some going bust
UUKs proposals suggest that if investment in university education had kept up with inflation, funding per student would now be in the region of £12,000 to £13,000.
Dame Sally also called for a reset of the relationship between the Government and universities and for a re-examination of the funding arrangements for tuition fees.
The major problem with university finance is that for the past eight to nine years, direct government grants and fees havent kept up with the cost of teaching and with inflation, so more and more institutions are facing a budget deficit overall, she told BBC Radio 4s Today programme.
We think that there needs to be a good dialogue with government in partnership about the relationship between the direct teaching grant that government can provide and the fees that students pay.
She added that UUK was alert to the consequences of increasing fees for students but said: 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 didnt. 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.
Overseas students were banned from bringing family members on their visas under a clampdown by the Tories, leading to a slump in demand from international students and an estimated £1.2billion hit to universities as foreign students pay an average of £22,000 per year.
The funding crisis has left 40 per cent of universities facing budget deficits, a recent report by the Office for Students found.
Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson (pictured) has pledged to reform the current tuition fee system
UUKs proposals suggest that if investment in university education had kept up with inflation , funding per student would now be in the region of £12,000 to £13,000. (Pictured: Stock image of Warwick University)
Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson has pledged to reform the current tuition fee system but said it would be unpalatable to increase fees in the next five years.
Downing Street would not be drawn on the Prime Ministers position on increasing tuition fees yesterday.
Asked whether Sir Keir Starmer was against fee rises, a No 10 spokesman said: The focus has been on ensuring that the Office for Students has greater flexibility so it can work closely with the universities on this and when it comes to fees there is an annual process for that.
They are, as I understand, set for this year, theres a process, but the focus is very much on working with universities, recognising they are independent and responsible for the decisions that ensure their long-term financial sustainability.
But we think its right that the Office for Students has a greater remit so it can monitor that financial sustainability.
A Department for Education spokesman said: We will create a secure future for our world-leading universities as engines of growth and opportunity so they can deliver for students, local communities and the economy.