Public is split on tuition fees for students in Wales
PUBLIC opinion in Wales is split almost evenly on whether Welsh students studying in Wales should pay something towards the cost of their university education, or nothing at all.
After being given an explanation of how tuition fees work in each UK nation, a representative sample of the over-16 population in Wales was asked by Beaufort Research whether such students should pay the full amount of tuition fees, as in England; some of the tuition fees, as in Northern Ireland; or none at all, as in Scotland,
Some 45% of those surveyed said the students should pay some of the fees, while 46% said they should pay nothing.
Only a very small minority (6%) think such students should pay the full fees, while 4% said they didn’t know.
There were some differences between sections of society in the responses.
People in the more skilled ABC1 social categories are slightly more likely than the less skilled C2DEs to believe that students in Wales should pay something towards university tuition fees (47% compared with 42%).
Equally, C2DEs are more likely than ABC1s to believe that they should not pay anything (48% compared with 43%).
Perhaps surprisingly, younger people (16-34s) are more likely to feel that students in Wales should pay part of the tuition fees than nothing – possibly because this is what they have been familiar with in recent years, while the reverse is true of 35 to 54-year-olds and over-55s, who may remember the time when students did not pay anything.
In regional terms, the Valleys were most likely to support a “no fees” policy, with 49% taking that view against 38% saying students should pay some of the fees. Five per cent of people in the Valleys thought students should pay the full fee.
By contrast, people in Cardiff and south-east Wales were more likely to back an arrangement under which students pay part of the fees (51%) rather than nothing (42%). Six per cent think the full fee should be paid.
Welsh speakers were considerably more likely to support “no fees” (53%) than “part fees” (38%), while nonWelsh speakers were marginally in favour of “part fees” (47%) rather than “no fees” (44%).
Men were evenly split, with 45% supporting both “no fees” and “part fees”, while women were 47% for “no fees” against 44% for “part fees”.
Welsh students can currently be charged up to £9,000 a year in tuition fees by universities and colleges in Wales for a full-time degree course, and up to £9,250 a year if they are studying in England, Northern Ireland or Scotland.
Students can take out a Tuition Fee Loan to cover their tuition fees, paid directly to the university or college. This is not income assessed and is only repaid once they have graduated and they are earning above a certain threshold amount.
The situation is similar in England for English students, but in Scotland young Scottish students aged under 25 do not pay any tuition fees if they study in a Scottish university or college, while Northern Irish students studying at a Northern Ireland university or college pay a maximum of £4,160 per year in tuition fees.
A Welsh Government spokesman said: “All the evidence shows that it is day-to-day living costs, such as accommodation, and not fees that are the main barrier to studying at university.
“That’s why, from this September, Welsh students will benefit from the most generous student support package in the UK, providing the equivalent to the National Living Wage through a mix of non-repayable grants and loans.
“Under this new package, every eligible student can claim a minimum grant of £1,000 they will not have to pay back, regardless of their household income and grants will be means-tested to support those who need them most.”
The level of tuition fees has been controversial in Wales for years.
When the UK Government put up fees in England to £9,000 per year, the amount paid by students themselves was pegged in Wales to between £3,000 and £4,000 per year.
The Welsh Government made up the difference, paying money from its core budget to universities not just in Wales, but elsewhere in the UK too.
Plaid Cymru argued that only students living in Wales and attending Welsh universities should benefit from the subsidy.
But First Minister Carwyn Jones spoke of how he had been contacted by parents grateful for the policy because it meant their children would not be saddled with massive debts.
However in September 2016 a review led by Professor Ian Diamond, the principal and vice chancellor of Aberdeen University, concluded that the level of tuition fee support offered by the Welsh Government was unaffordable.
In 2013-14, the “cheap fees” policy cost the Welsh Government £129m. In 2014-15 it went up to £194m. By 2016-17 the cost was approaching £250m.
■ Fieldwork for the survey took place between June 4 and June 17. A total of 1,006 interviews were completed and analysed.