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Scotland shows us the effect of taxpayer-funded university tuition- Non-graduates shouldn't subsidise higher earning graduates
- Abolishing tuition fees won't address inter-generational unfairness
- Since the £9,000 cap, the participation rate of disadvantaged 19-year olds in higher education has increased by 4.8 percentage points.
- Eliminating tuition fees and “dealing” with existing debts would be highly regressive, asking non-graduates to subsidise graduates who on average earn £9,500 p.a more.
- Scotland, which charges Scottish and EU students no fees, is bad for social mobility. Its advantaged to disadvantaged entry ratio is 3.5 compared to England’s 2.4.
- Introducing a ceiling on fees has caused problems. Most universities are charging the ceiling, meaning there is no link between tuition fees and job prospects.
- Ministers should avoid retrospective measures that increase repayments for graduates, incentivise courses that link to areas with labour shortages and could examine whether interest rates on loans should be reduced.
- There is a need to redress intergenerational fairness, but abolishing tuition fees simply redistributes resources between lower earning non-graduates and higher earning graduates.
