Students lobby MPs over fees
Students from the University of Bath were today lobbying MPs in London over what they call the "disastrous" system of higher education fees.
Students' Union president Alex Nicholson-Evans will be involved in a Parliamentary protest organised by the National Union of Students.
Yesterday, it was revealed that many universities wanted tuition fees to be sharply increased.
The NUS is calling on the Government to create a fairer funding system and abolish the current top-up fees system, which it says leaves the average student with £20,000 of debt.
Ms Nicholson-Evans said: "Students from the University of Bath will be joining this NUS lobby because the current higher education funding system is entirely unfair."
The union reckons the total debt of current University of Bath students on graduating will be nearly £180 million.
The Government is currently reviewing the system and the NUS has submitted a number of ideas.
2 Comments
by John, Bath Uni
Wednesday, March 18 2009, 7:56PM
“I feel even more sorry for international students who make up a large majority of Bath Uni students. They already pay even higher fees than Uk students and hate to think what their fees will rise to!
International student fees are already £10,600 - £13,500 per year depending on subject, so can not imagine what they will be increased to! I guess they will go up to about £16,600 - £21,500 per year!
Totally appalling!”
by paul, UWE, Bristol
Wednesday, March 18 2009, 1:18PM
“Maybe if the length of contact study hours was more ppropriate then the higher fees could be justified.
At the moment most full time students only receive 24 weeks of tuition per year, and only 15 hours per week.
If we received ta real FULL-TIME tuition service from 9am-3pm, 5 days a week, 1st september through to 31st July, which would be in-line with the rest of the UK educational system then these huge fees would be appropriate. Then you could also reduce the traditional 3 year degree down to a 2 year degree. As it stands at the moment the fees system does not provide good service or value for money, so universities cannot increase the charges on that basis alone.”