With just a month under his belt as the Minister of State for Universities & Science, David Willetts has given his first big speech on the state of British universities. Damning them as needing a complete overhaul thanks to the aftermath of the Labour government, the speech has been seen as a signal that it won’t be long before tuition fees are allowed to rise.
With a funding review potentially on the cards for the next few months, it’s likely that Universities will be a part of savings that the Conservatives want to make to stem the tide of the budget deficit caused by the global recession.
A greater contribution to university costs from tuition fees will undoubtedly reduce the contribution from public funding, but it could also result in even greater barriers to study for people that already struggle to pay their way through university.
It’s possible that both Labour and the Liberal Democrats would oppose the increase of tuition fees, so maybe the Conservatives will struggle to get the proposal past parliament. However, either way you look at it, it’s a pretty big signal that university funding will get a big shake up over the next year. My university research fellow & Phd student house mates probably won’t be happy.
