London: A recent media survey suggests at least two-thirds of universities in England want to charge £9,000 a year for some or all courses. The survey of 71 institutions suggests maximum fees will not be “exceptional” as the government had claimed.
It coincides with the deadline for universities to submit their fee plans for 2012 to the Office for Fair Access.
The government argues that fee waivers and cheaper degree courses in further education will lower the average cost.
Aaron Porter, the outgoing president of the National Union of Students, accused the government of causing “costly chaos” with its university reforms.
“When the government forced these ill-considered plans through Parliament, they claimed that fees above £6,000 would be the exception rather than rule, but that was quite clearly a pipe dream,” said Porter.
According to the survey, based on 71 higher education institutions that have declared their plans, 47 want to charge £9,000 fees for some or all of their courses.
There are 39 universities which so far have indicated that they want to charge £9,000 for all courses.
Universities have now reached the point at which they have to submit their plans for tuition fees and for protecting access for poorer students when the upper limit on fees is increased in 2012.
But the full picture of tuition fees will not be known publicly until July, when the Office for Fair Access confirms the fees that it has approved for each university.
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