Recommendations = University tuition fees to more than double in UK

[Hannah Bell]

Recommendations by Lord Browne on the funding of UK universities have been described as the “most radical shake-up” of higher education since the late 1960s. Those earlier reforms expanded university provision so that, for the first time, it was no longer the exclusive preserve of the rich. Browne’s review signals a sharp reversal of these progressive measures.

The recommendations will not only mean students paying more in fees, but increased interest rates on any loans they borrow, further encroachment by the private sector into education and the scrapping of courses considered economically unviable and the bankrupting of entire institutions.

The most significant recommendation in Browne’s review is to remove the cap on tuition fees in 2012. Currently set at £3,290 a year, it is anticipated this could rise immediately upon agreement to £7,000.

This is just the start. The former chief executive of BP argues that there should be “no single fixed price” for tuition, to encourage a competitive market that will supposedly enable students to determine the “value” of particular subjects and universities. The more prestigious universities such as Oxford and Cambridge, which have a greater international profile and a wealthier intake, will be able to charge fees that some have speculated could rise to over £20,000 per annum. This will become the financial benchmark against which the “worth” of other universities and degree courses are judged.

http://www.wsws.org/articles/2010/oct2010/univ-o14.shtml

[exboyfil]

1. 3300 pounds is about 70% of what our

state school charges. I did not realize that Cambridge and Oxford were held to the same limit.

[the redcoat]

2. Competitive market???

Has this guy ever heard of the fucking United States of America? Private universities at $40k a year putting people in debt for decades before they even have a job. How's that sound to you, UK?

[Starry Messenger]

3. k & r