Grant cuts ‘could force tuition fees up to £8,000’
London university tuition fees must rise to about £8,000 a year if feared cuts in government grants are to be offset, a senior MP warned today.
Labour's higher education spokesman, Gareth Thomas, stressed vice-chancellors are saying fees of £6,000 to £7,000 will not cover their losses.
The London School of Economics estimates it could lose almost all of its teaching funding for home or EU undergraduates, equivalent to a cut of £7.7 million a year, a survey found.
The University of Greenwich believes it could lose 80 per cent of its teaching grant income and have to charge £7,900 in fees, said Mr Thomas, while the University of Bedfordshire fears it could lose all of its grant and will have to charge £7,650 to £8,500.
Other vice-chancellors said they fear losing between 75 per cent and 95 per cent of their grants. Mr Thomas, MP for Harrow West, condemned the cuts as "breathtaking savagery".
Ministers have yet to give their full response to a review by Lord Browne on tuition fees, though they have ruled out allowing universities to charge unlimited fees.
The London School of Economics has considered plans to go private which would let it charge higher fees than the current £3,290 a year.
