‘Not So Fast’ Says Clegg

Nick Clegg has told Cambridge and Oxford that it’s “not up to them” to decide whether to charge £9,000 a year tuition fees.

Earlier this week Cambridge announced plans to charge the maximum amount, and Oxford quickly declared similar intentions.

But in an interview with the BBC, Nick Clegg said that it is “not up to them” to decide.

The Uni would have to gain approval from the government in order to up fees to £9,000, and to do this they would have to “dramatically increase” access to poorer students, said Clegg.

If the recommendations of Cambridge’s latest report are adopted then this seem unlikely. Although the report advises fees of £6,000 for those whose families earn less than £25,000, this is still around a £3,000 increase in fees for this earning band.

Furthermore, the report also advises cutting bursaries from the current level of £3,400 to just £1,625.

Clegg is set to publish a guide on how to maintain access despite fee hikes.

The University wouldn’t comment on the issue as they still consulting on what to do following Clegg’s comments.