Why tuition fees should go up

The fees English universities are allowed to charge home students in England are fixed by government fiat. At £9,250 per year, they are some of the most expensive in Europe. Shortly after the election Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson denied any plans to raise them. She appears to have changed her mind, saying the fee has been ‘eroded’ because it hasn’t gone up in a ‘very long time’. Officials are reportedly drawing up plans to raise the fee to to £10,500 over the next five years, thereby tracking inflation. They are right to do so.

Put bluntly, the universities need the money. The 24 elite Russell Group institutions, it is said, currently lose roughly £2,500 on average for every home student. Other less prestigious organisations with less overheads may lose less, but many will still not break even. Most universities are already in a fairly precarious financial state.