UK students should pay nearer to the £24,000 a year in fees that foreign students are charged, university bosses have claimed. Currently UK students pay £9,250 per year for tuition. That amount has been frozen for a decade.
Universities in Wales can charge you up to £9,000 a year for undergraduate tuition. International students (including EU students) pay between £12,000 and £22,000 per year for an undergraduate course.
However a number of university bosses say that amount isn't enough. Sir David Bell, vice-chancellor at the University of Sunderland and a former permanent secretary at the UK Government's Department for Education, told The Sunday Times : "You cannot expect to run universities on a fee level of £9,250 a year, which by 2025 will be worth around £6,000 in real terms because of inflation. If you want to keep running universities even at the level we have now you have to increase the tuition fee at some point."
Read more: People could be paid to use their dishwashers or tumble dryers overnight
If tuition fees had kept pace with inflation they would now be £12,000 a year rather than £9,250. Students are graduating with loan debts of £50,000 on average. The warning is that universities are having to take on an ever-increasing number of foreign applicants from countries such as China and India who are charged much higher fees.
Full-time Welsh university students may be eligible for financial support of between £9,095 and £13,375. Subject to terms and conditions students who live in Wales and are studying towards their first degree will not have to pay their tuition fees upfront but can get a loan of up to £9,000 a year to meet the cost which is repaid after studies are completed and the student is earning more than £27,295 a year. Universities in England, Northern Ireland, and Scotland can charge up to £9,250 a year.
Sir David said universities would like to look to foreign students "as a matter of choice, not simply because there is a financial imperative to do it”, adding: “Universities cannot afford not to take more overseas students". Professor Colin Riordan, vice-chancellor of Cardiff University, said the government had a "national duty to ensure that it was at least viable for us to teach students from this country".
A Welsh Government spokesperson said: "We remain committed to widening access to higher education, ensuring it is available to all who can benefit throughout their lives. A person’s financial situation should never be a barrier to studying at university, which is why Wales provides the most generous living costs grants in the UK."
Read next:
- Welsh athlete Ben Gregory in a coma after suffering fractured skull and neck in bike crash
- '10 things I learned returning to the Valleys after a decade away'
- Killer who met victim in in nightclub and left her body in reservoir is sentenced
- Man in hospital after police shut Cardiff road
- Coldplay announce Cardiff date for world tour
