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Universities in England should be freed from restrictions on the amount they charge students for their education, the long-awaited Browne review has concluded.
The independent review calls for the present cap of £3,290 on tuition fees to be lifted and for universities to be left to decide what to charge.
If a university wanted to charge more, it would pay the government a levy to help fund bursaries to support poorer students.
Adopting the proposals will be politically difficult for the coalition government, whose junior Liberal Democrat party pledged in the general election to scrap the fees altogether.
Former BP boss Lord Browne's review called for the introduction of a new streamlined funding scheme, called the Student Funding Plan.
The independent report proposed that students, who take subsidised loans to cover the fees, would not have to make repayments until they earn at least £21,000 after graduation, higher than the current £15,000 threshold.
Higher-earning graduates would pay back their loans at an interest rate equal to the government's cost of borrowing, while those earning below the threshold would pay no real interest rate.
The 64-page long review said that part-time students should have the same access to tuition support as full-time students.
It also calls for a 10 per cent increase in the number of places available to students over the next three years, with "no restrictions" on how many students can be admitted.
And it said careers advice in schools should be improved so that pupils have access to the right information about university choice.
Speaking to Radio 4's Today Programme, Lord Browne said the system was "very progressive indeed".
Lord Browne said his aim had been "to make the system as sustainable as possible, so we don't have to keep changing it and therefore to think about the balance between what the graduate pays and what the government contributes".
He added: "We have concluded that that balance we have today doesn't actually reflect the benefit. Clearly, getting a degree is an enormous benefit and it will continue to be a benefit. If you choose to work, it will produce a significant premium over A-levels or any other qualifications. That balance needed to be changed."
Business secretary Vince Cable, who previously promoted the idea of a graduate tax, wrote to MPs on the weekend saying that he now accepts Conservative criticisms of the idea and that it would not be pursued.
Shadow business secretary John Denham said the report reflected that the coalition will be cutting higher education teaching budgets by around two-thirds.
"This is a massive cut even when set against the coalition's aim to cut spending by 25 per cent," he said.
The National Union of Students said students would be left with "crippling levels of debt", with many universities facing "utter devastation" as a result of cuts.
Article Comments
Yet again we see education proposals being put forward which will simply drive a wedge between the opportunities afforded to those with money and those without.
The raising of tuition fees will mean that many less well off families will simply not be able to countenance the increased costs that students will have to bear after qualification. It will be a disaster for social justice and for the economy.
Christine Blower, NUT
12th Oct 2010 at 1:51 pm
Leaving to the universities to charge according to their discretion is highly detrimental. It may lead to disparity in the cost of education. Universities will turn to be profit making organisations with the soft word of accounting- surplus. At the same time will break the financial backbone of most of the families who care their children properly.
In spite of taking simple steps like cutting and letting others free to do any thing, we have to think of all other alternatives, and take the right decision.
What we need is efficiency in the performance. A total quality approach, an MBO approach could be tried for in the field of finance. We have to consider Sir Philip Green's views about government spending.
What I suggest is Proper Financial Discipline through proper control and alternative sources of income for the country. Financial indiscipline is evident in every sector. We should not stick on the old systems of economy. It is already late to think of a new system of economy- a global system which is different from the existing three systems.
Why not the scholars of Cambridge and Oxford think on this behalf?
Dr.Joy K.Joseph
12th Oct 2010 at 11:41 am
We are very concerned about the potential impact of these proposals on higher education. If implemented, these recommendations could deter many students from poorer families from attending universities charging higher fees or even from going to university at all.
In the future, schools may struggle to recruit teachers as more graduates seek the most highly paid employment, in order to ease their debt burden, rather than socially valuable careers such as teaching.
Philip Parkin, Voice
12th Oct 2010 at 10:44 am
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