Students 'need to get facts straight on higher education'

It is essential that students understand how the new tuition fee system should work, according to Liberal Democrat MP Simon Hughes.

Writing on Left Foot Forward, he said the changes will not make higher education unaffordable.

His comments come after a poll by the Sutton Trust revealed that the majority of secondary school children do not understand the fee system, with a fifth of youngsters believing that their parents will foot the bill for their university education.

"Let me be clear where we are. No university student studying for their first degree either full time or part time will be obliged to pay any fees starting in 2012. No university student has to pay anything to their university for tuition during their studies and no graduate will be obliged to pay anything back until they are paying at least £21,000 a year," Mr Hughes said.

He added that the new system is similar to the graduate tax proposed by the National Union of Students.

Posted by Katy Kearns
 

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