Middle-class 'to foot bill' for poorer students' courses

Middle-class students could pay as much as £3,100 more a year for university tuition than their poorer counterparts from next year.

That is according to the Labour Party, which suggested government stipulations that approximately a third of money raised from fees of over £6,000 be used to subsidise those from poorer backgrounds will create an unfair scenario, The Telegraph reports.

In an Opposition Day debate, the party is expected to criticise the policy to use money from the increased fees in this way, estimating that middle-class students will typically pay between £2,700 and £3,150 more even if they don't go on to enjoy a better job.

Shadow business secretary John Denham was quoted as saying: "Students do not pay until they graduate, but the government is imposing a system where graduates with the same class of degree in the same subject from the same university doing the same job will owe very different debts."

More than a third of those universities to have announced their fees for next year have opted to introduce the maximum amount of £9,000.

Posted by Tim Colman

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