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Students face paying higher tuition fees after the next election as the Tories hint they are prepared to consider raising the current £3,225 a-year charge.
Shadow Universities Secretary David Willetts told the Standard that university bosses must prove that students will benefit if fees are to rise.
Many vice-chancellors want to charge undergraduates up to £7,000 a-year for a degree course, while some have called for the introduction of American-style unlimited fees.
Mr Willetts is urging ministers to make the Government's university fees review - which is due to begin within weeks - a cross-party inquiry.
The move would draw the political sting out of what could be the most unpopular decision David Cameron takes in his first months in office.
The remarks represent the clearest signal yet that the Conservatives are prepared to consider a possible increase in tuition fees if they win power next spring.
Students and lecturers have warned that Labour and the Tories are adopting a "cosy consensus of silence", refusing to say whether they believe fees should rise in the run-up to the election. Mr Willetts said: "It's absolutely not a simple decision that has already been taken.” He said that a year ago vice-chancellors were urging him to raise the current cap on fees, which was set in 2006 at £3,000 adjusted for inflation. “The only question was whether it should be £5,000 or £7,000,” he said.
“They now realise that it's not a decision like that. I say to them quite explicitly, If the fee cap were to go up, what would be in it for students? You have to show the better experience for students. You haven't yet done that.' ” But he added that reforms will also have to consider student loans, funding for part-time courses, and “the teaching experience for students”.
His comments echo recent remarks by Lord Mandelson, who has hinted at allowing universities to charge more, provided they offer better support for working-class undergraduates.
A government review of fees is due to begin in the next few weeks but will not report back until after the election. Speaking ahead of a Conservative-led debate on higher education in the Commons, Mr Willetts said the review should be cross-party to ensure it was “as open a process as possible”.
The “precedent” for such a move came in 1996 when John Major's government consulted Labour before setting up Ron Dearing's review of higher education funding, which paved the way for Tony Blair to introduce tuition fees.
Reader views (13)
The Tories are becoming comfortable and are finally showing their true colours; which, Mr. Cameron, is very dangerous so close to an election.
This hike in tuition fee price will not go down very well at all, it is yet another example of the upper-class, upper-income twits barking orders, who have no idea about real life or real struggles. As a final year law student I am all too well aware of the financial burden placed upon people when attending university and had this rediculous £7,000 per year price tag been in place when deciding my future it would almost certainly have prevented me from attending university. I will already come out of university after three years of hard work (as well as working part-time) with at least £20,000 worth of debt; which under a Tory government could easily have been well over £32,000.
It's just a shame Mummy and Daddy couldn't afford to pay my tuition fees or accomodation costs. A problem I'm sure Mummy and Daddy Cameron will not face.
- Sarah, Derby
As usual we have descended into bashing 'worthless degrees' and hoping that raising the fees would somehow 'price them out of the market'. Small wake up call: Media studies students from Derby are earning more after 6 months than maths graduates from Manchester. And there are many similar examples. When will we learn that students can actually chose the right courses pretty well, and when government tries to control what people do it invariable makes it all much much worse?
- Michael, Cambridge, UK
Simple ... let's all move to Scotland where it's all free. The only downside is that the New Labour Scottish mafia will all get voted out and you might find yourself leiving next to door to them.
- Paul, London
Little difference to germany:
A german student has now to pay 1000 Euro per Year
Denmark and Scotland free.
Is it not time to cut all these high paid professor jobs?
Look at the german doctors, who do not get as much paid in germany as the GB doctors here in GB, thats why the come here to work overtime on the weekend! Fairer payments and taxes for the highearners in Germany and better life for the poor.
- Simple123, London
So at a time when even Tesco's are complaining about the standard of education we want to put further education even further out of the reach of the average child? Wonderful that these things are proposed by people who received their higher education for free. What is needed is a thorough and independent review of University spending and funding levels. With classes of 100 in popular 1st year undergraduate courses no longer unusual why is there suddenly a need for more cash? That's 320,000 per year plus government funding to pay for probably 8 lecturers and some part time tutors...
- Mark, London
James: Your a fool. This hike will have no effect on standards, it will simply price out the working class. futher entranching the rich ruling class who can buy education for their children regardless of ability while intelegent hardworking working class children are forced out in the name of the market. It will do nothing more than further entrench the nepotism and elitism that is rife in our education system.
Education is a right not a privilege .
- Matthew, Liverpool - Bristol UWE Student
Another stitch up by the political class of the future generation. With youth unemployment skyrocketing, unchecked competition for jobs from young people flocking to London from all over the EU as its even worse there than here, and now saddling us with debts that will take years to pay off on the average 20 - 25k grad job, not forgetting the cost of renting in London due to a lack of new housing being built and the aforementioned immigration. What future are we creating for this country???
- Graham, London
They are so cocky about winning that they are coming out with some policies at last. However as soon as they get a poor reaction they want to make the enquiry all-party. It makes Osborne's sound-bite about being in it together sound particularly hollow.
- S B Gartram, Sutton England
Make all universities independent of the government and unsubsidised, charging whatever fees they can in free competition. Offer full scholarships to the top 15% of students, 60% of them for science subjects, 30% for classical arts subjects (English, history, geography, languages etc.) and 9% for social sciences and 1% for myriad non-subjects such as media studies. There would be rapid closure of many mediocre institutions and courses and good students, regardless of backround, would not exit university saddle with debt.
- David, London
I have just sent one son off to university, and have an 11 year old who will also want to go when the time comes. I want Labour out, but this hike would be a deal-buster for me, and I couldn't vote for the Tories on this basis. Middle-class, middle-income bashing yet again.
- Philip, London, England
Just as well I obtained my degree a couple of decades ago.
Never mind, most of the future Tory Parlimentarians will have been used to paying for their education so what's a few more thousand to them.
- David, London
If we are to have American-style fees here, then we ought to have American-style taxation - that is, married couples with children get tax breaks, and the total tax burden is only 28%, whereas here it is 40% plus.
Also, only a minority of US universities have unlimited fees - most State colleges are around $6500 a year, far less than the proposed sums here!
- Liz, London,UK
Well that will sort out the worthwhile degrees from those that have no value.
Good its about time the rubbish degrees were priced out of the market. Science engineering and medical degrees must be subsidised for long-term English residents.
- James, City of London
