Four-fifths of students deterred by £10,000 uni fees

Responding to today's NUS/HSBC report on student finance, which shows that four-fifths (79%) of students would be deterred by fees of £10,000 and that seven out of ten (70%) would be put off by fees of £7,000, the union said raising fees would stop thousands of people from fulfilling their potential.
 
The government is expected to publish its response to the Browne review of higher education this week. The report recommended hiking university fees and increasing the level of interest on student loans. If fees were to go up to £5,000 England would become the most expensive country in the world to study at a public university.
 
Next week thousands of students and lecturers will take to the streets of London in protest over cuts to education funding and regressive student funding policies. For more information visit www.demo2010.org
 
Commenting on the report, UCU general secretary, Sally Hunt, said: 'England faces the frightening prospect of becoming the most expensive country in the world in which to study at a public university. It should come as little surprise that people will be put off from studying.
 
'It's no wonder that we've seen an increase in students applying for next year to try and get in ahead of any changes. They are not stupid; they know there is nothing fair or progressive about proposals to raise fees. Lifting the cap will price thousands of people out of having the chance to fulfil their potential at university.
 
'Next week thousands of students, lecturers and members of the public will take to the streets of London because they are furious about what the coalition government is doing. It received no mandate to push through such punitive cuts to further and higher education and Liberal Democrat MPs actively campaigned on a ticket to abolish fees altogether.'