Universities in Wales must wait to raise tuition fees

UNIVERSITIES in Wales have not been given licence to follow institutions across the border and raise maximum tuition fees to £9,250 a year, it has been confirmed.

The Welsh Government said it would await the findings of a major review in to higher education funding, being undertaken by University of Aberdeen vicechancellor Sir Ian Diamond, before making a decision.

It came as universities in England were given official confirmation that they can increase tuition fees to £9,250 a year from September 2017, in a move described by critics as “a kick in the teeth to students”.

Several universities in England have already begun advertising courses at that rate, after being told earlier this year that they would be able to increase the £9,000 maximum.

The increased cap will be available only to higher education institutions deemed to have met the expectations of the UK government’s Teaching Excellence Framework. A list of hundreds of colleges and universities that have passed this threshold was published earlier this month.

Announcing the new cap in a written statement to the House of Commons, UK Universities Minister Jo Johnson said that the maximum fee loan for students would also rise to £9,250.

Loans for living costs will rise to £8,430 outside London and £11,002 in the UK capital.

A spokesman for the Welsh Government said: “Any decision to raise the level of the maximum tuition fee for Welsh universities would have to be taken by Welsh Government.”