Member Article

Changes needed to Univeristy tariffs says local MP

The shadow higher education minister has criticized the Government’s changes to higher eduction, accusing them of deterring people from applying to university.

Exactly a year on from the Collation’s decision to treble tuition fees, Shabana Mahmood is calling on the Prime Minister to take note of the effects this has had on University applications.

When they introduced the increase, the Government claimed that the changes would make no difference to application numbers. However, new results have shown that applications have fallen by 15% nationally, and 21% in the region.

She commented: “We warned the trebling of fees was wrong. It shows that the Tory-led government are out of touch on the costs that young people face when going to university.

“Parents are worried that their children today will have fewer opportunities than the generation before.”

Labour believe that the Government should cut the tuition fee gap by a third to £6000, in a move which would be funded by scrapping the corporation tax cut on the banks and asking the top 10% of graduate earners to pay more towards the cost of their education.

Shabana continued: “Higher education should be at the heart of the government’s growth strategy and for that certainty is needed, but the government is doing nothing to encourage this.

“Universities are having to bid for 20,000 student places cut by the Government, not to improve quality but cut costs; and all because Ministers cut funding for teaching by 80% and allowed fees to treble.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .