Labour's plans to cut university fees if they win the general election have come under fire from leading universities across the country.
Ed Miliband
Under the current Conservative government, a top rate of £9,000 university fee was introduced and Ed Miliband wants to reduce those costs to £6,000.
While this move may be something that is welcome news to future university students, it is a plan that has been criticised, as it would lose the university system £10 billion over five years.
Sir Christopher Snowden, vice-chancellor of the University of Surrey, believes that cutting fees would impact the students and results in fewer opportunities for younger people. In an open letter to The Times, Mr Snowden wrote: "Any move to limit the number of students attending universities as a way of reducing costs would remove opportunities for young people and those seeking to return to education, and act as a barrier to economic growth."
A number of universities, including Bath and Bristol have supported comments made in the letter by signing it. Mr Snowden went on to talk to The Times, saying that it was the cost of living that was the major problem at university.
He said: "I really feel Labour has missed the point here. If you talk to students and to many mums and dads, the £9,000 fee is no longer the key topic.
"The real issue is actually subsistence, the cost of living at university, particularly for students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds. This hasn't been addressed at all by Labour."
Under the current system, students don't pay for their university fees upfront and don't start paying back the loan until they are earning £21,000 a year.
Shadow universities minister Liam Byrne has criticised the government's introduction of raised fees, saying that the student finance system is going 'bust.'
He said: "The Tory-led government trebled fees and now it is crystal clear that the student finance system is going bust, saddling students with debts most will never repay of £43,500 on average and costing the taxpayer more than the system it replaced."According to new Ucas analysis, trebled fees have deterred thousands of potential students from applying."
Ed Miliband hinted earlier in the year that a possible shake-up in the university fee system was potentially on the horizon should he win the next general election. However, he said that he would not promise something that he could not deliver like the Liberal Democrats did during the last election.