Students say 'no' to fees rise as Wilson quizzes Cable
Adam Hewitt • Published 13 Oct 2010 09:30
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Business secretary Vince Cable speaking at Reading University when he was still the Lib Dem Treasury spokesman
STUDENTS have rejected plans to lift the cap on tuition fees and reform higher education funding.
Reading University Students’ Union (RUSU) said the Browne Review was “disappointing”.
Lord Browne's plans, broadly accepted by the Government, would let universities charge more but also raise graduates’ loan repayment threshold from £15,000 to £21,000.
RUSU president Jess Lazarczyk, who is planning to join a mass protest against the Government’s cuts for universities in London on Wednesday, November 10, said: “We should exist in a society in which any person, from any background has the opportunity to go to university and better themselves through the university education system. It’s inherently unfair that a person’s right to an education should be determined by his or her ability to pay for it.”
University spokesman Alex Brannen said: "Until we hear more about the interface between the Browne Review, the Government’s response and next week’s Comprehensive Spending Review, predicting the future is problematic.
"However, if the overall funding package for universities continues to support excellence, strongly recruiting universities, such as the University of Reading, will continue to be a very popular choice with students. We await the Government’s response to the report with interest and to the equally important Comprehensive Spending Review announcements."
Reading East MP Rob Wilson quizzed business secretary Vince Cable in Parliament.
Mr Wilson, a former RUSU president and a former shadow higher education spokesman, asked whether Mr Cable would guarantee students would not be penalised for early loan repayments. There have been reports that middle-earners could fare the worst under the Browne proposals, as poorer students escape having to pay any contribution until they earn more than £21,000, and rich ones pay off their loans as fast as possible to avoid paying much interest.
Mr Cable told him: “It is certainly feasible under the existing system - and it will be in future - for people to pay their obligations early, but we need to be very clear that we cannot allow very affluent people to be able to buy their way out of their obligations under a fair graduate contribution system.
"Anybody who has tried to pay their mortgage back early will have discovered that there is something called a redemption fee to maintain the integrity of the system. We need to look at ways of ensuring that there is no mechanism that allows people to avoid making a fair contribution to universities."
At a tuition fees debate before the election, Mr Wilson was the only candidate to refuse to sign the National Union of Students (NUS) pledge on fees, which was backed by the Lib Dems' Gareth Epps, Labour's Anneliese Dodds and Rob White of the Green Party.
At the time, Mr Wilson cited collective responsibility with his Tory colleagues and the pressures on Government budgets caused by the financial crisis.
Cllr Epps, who has long been a campaigner against tuition fees, is backing those Lib Dem backbenchers planning to vote against the Browne Review proposals, including former leaders Charles Kennedy and Menzies Campbell.
He said those backing the proposals in effect wanted "the richest students to be able to get an education for less, by paying off their costs at time when others can't afford it in order to avoid interest".
He said this meant "tax breaks for the richest" and "more debt" for the poorest.
He added: "That is unfair and goes to show why these plans should be ditched. I stand by my pledge to oppose any increase in fees and I am working to urge Liberal Democrats in Parliament to block these plans which will put even more people off university."
Mr Cable and party leader Nick Clegg have this week said they would have to break pledges on fees they signed before the election because of the scale of the deficit crisis.
This article appeared in Reading Chronicle 14 Oct 10
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