Decision to keep tuition fees at £9k in Wales is welcomed
PLANS to raise tuition fees in Wales have been ditched by the Welsh Government, meaning they will remain at £9,000.
The U-turn, just three months after a £295 hike was announced, was welcomed by universities, students and Plaid Cymru which hailed it as a victory for its opposition to plans to raise fees.
The maximum university tuition fee in Wales will now remain at £9,000, with £26m of government investment to support students and universities over the next two years, Education Secretary Kirsty Williams said.
The proposed rise would have meant students under a Labour administration here paying more than those over the border in England under the Whitehall Tory government.
Ms Williams also confirmed undergraduate loans would not have to be paid back until graduates are earning £25,000, up from the current £21,000.
She said: “I will not allow the political turmoil and uncertainty in England to knock us off course from delivering on a stable and sustainable higher education system in Wales.
“Our sector does not operate in isolation and we must provide stability for our institutions to compete both domestically and internationally.
“Given the uncertain political climate in England, I have carefully considered our future plans for tuition fee levels. After consulting with our universities and the National Union of Students, the maximum tuition fee will remain at £9,000.
“We are also on track to deliver the most equitable and progressive student support system in the UK, starting next academic year.
“Unlike the Government across the border, we are delivering investment to support both students and universities as part of these changes.
“I also remain concerned about the rate of interest charged to students whilst they study and I will continue to discuss this with counterparts in Whitehall.”
She said £10m will be made available to the Higher Education Council For Wales to deal with any immediate issues arising from the tuition fee changes.
An additional £6m also goes to HEFCW in this financial year to deal with the short-term implications of demographic change, as well allowing them to start preparing for the implications of Brexit.
A further £5m will be allocated to HEFCW in both 2018-19 and 2019-20 to allow institutions to provide bursaries and grants to postgraduate students, prior to full implementation of the new package of postgraduate support in 2019/20.
The Education Secretary told the Children, Young People and Education Committee that the moves would encourage Welsh students to return to Wales to study.
Plaid Cymru Shadow Education Secretary Llyr Gruffydd said the fact that the money was there all along to provide additional funds for HEFCW showed that it was a political decision, rather than a necessity, on the part of the Labour Welsh government to introduce a hike.
“Plaid Cymru will continue to make the case for moving towards a model where students pay no tuition fees at all, as has been achieved in Scotland,” Mr Gruffydd said.
Darren Millar AM, Welsh Conservative Shadow Education Secretary, said: “I am pleased to see the Welsh Government’s u-turn on university tuition fees.
“Welsh Labour’s original plans to hike the maximum fees chargeable by £295 would have seen students studying in Wales paying more for their tuition than anywhere else in the UK, despite election promises to wipe them altogether.”
NUS Wales president Ellen Jones said: “Today’s announcement by Kirsty Williams is an incredibly positive development in the way Wales runs student funding.
“It shows that the Cabinet Secretary agrees with us that students cannot be expected to shoulder the burden of austerity.”
Chair of Universities Wales Professor Julie Lydon said: “At a time when our universities have been working to plan longterm for a sustainable funding model through Diamond, this commitment by the Welsh Government to find a solution will enable our universities to continue to deliver a comparable student experience to that available in better funded institutions across the border.”