WORLD CLASS... FEES
EDUCATION TUITION FEES TOP THE GLOBE’S COSTLIEST BUT INTERNET AGE POSES CHALLENGE TO CAMPUSES
UNIVERSITY tuition fees in England are the highest in the developed world, a study finds.
And plans to keep lectures online amid the pandemic present a major challenge to institutions’ finances, warned the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
Fees have trebled over the last 12 years and it costs £9,250 a year to study for a bachelors degree. Overseas undergraduates pay even more.
But after studying education systems in 46 countries, OECD director Andreas Schleicher said campuses could struggle to retain a monopoly on higher education in the online age. They would not be able to maintain current fees if they just went digital, he added.
‘I don’t think you can ask students to pay £9,000 for online lessons,’ he said. ‘Students go to university to meet great professors, experience the social life of campus and that’s the value proposition of universities.’
The report also found the percentage of 25- to 64-year-olds who had studied at universities varied wildly by region.
Some 38 per cent in the north-east went into higher education, compared with 64 per cent in Greater London.
Mr Schleicher said it showed ‘there is a lot of people who have great potential but do not invest in education as they don’t see the purpose out of it’.
Universities UK said: ‘Our universities are world-leading, with the benefits of obtaining a degree here wide-ranging. Graduates earn on average £10,000 more per year and this is only one measure of success.’