Minister responds to concerns about increase in student tuition fees
Employment and Learning Minister, Sir Reg Empey, today responded to his Department’s Assembly Committee members’ concerns about an increase in tuition fees.
Sir Reg highlighted that, while he shared some of the concerns expressed, he believed that the funding of a competitive higher education sector for Northern Ireland is critical to its future economic success. He said: “Taking unilateral action on fees at this stage would have been unwise. I therefore welcome the Assembly’s decision taken today to accept my recommendation not to intervene at this stage.”
The Minister, who last week met with the student representative body, NUS-USI, to discuss similar concerns, emphasised the longer term benefits to the Northern Ireland economy. He said: “Variable fees were introduced to provide our universities with much needed additional revenue to help them maintain their world class status. Any diminution in the funding available to them would have a significant impact on their ability to do so and would also have consequences for the Northern Ireland economy.”
Turning to the implications for students, the Minister said: “Students do not have to pay fees up front or during their course of study, they may defer until they have left university and are earning over £15,000 a year. Furthermore, increased maintenance grants and university bursaries have also been introduced to alleviate the impact of variable fees on less well off students.”
The Minister explained that the consequences of not maintaining the fee amount, in real terms, would have resulted in a shortfall to local Higher Education Institutions of around £2.5million in the next academic year.
He also explained that it was too early to gauge the impact of tuition fees on participation in higher education. He said that recent UCAS data indicated that there had actually been an increase in accepted Northern Ireland applicants to both UK and NI institutions but that the situation would be kept under review.
Sir Reg gave the following assurance: “I am committed to a review of variable tuition fees and student finance arrangements which is due to commence in Academic Year 2008/09. The outcome of this review will inform future policy in Northern Ireland.”
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