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Students protest over higher fees Thousands in tuition fees protest
(about 24 hours later)
Thousands of students will march in central London on Sunday to protest over higher tuition fees. Thousands of students have marched in London to protest over higher tuition fees which they claim will deter people from high education.
Students who started degree courses in September this year, have to pay up to £3,000 a year towards tuition costs. Students who started degree courses in September this year have to pay up to £3,000 a year towards tuition costs.
The government says the new package is fairer as the fees are no longer paid upfront and grants are available to disadvantaged students. The government said the new package is fairer as the fees are no longer paid upfront and grants and bursaries are available to disadvantaged students.
But the National Union of Students said a poll of 1,000 people found 74% felt higher costs would deter students. The National Union of Students has called for the policy to be reversed.
It takes years to recover from that financial burden, particularly for women, due to career breaks and pay inequality NUS president Gemma Tumelty
NUS president Gemma Tumelty said: "We really believe that debt will be a huge deterrent on students entering education.
"This year there were 15,000 fewer students - that's a huge concern to us, particularly when government is trying to widen participation."
Demonstrators marched past parliament and 10 Downing Street before converging at Trafalgar Square.
Ms Tumelty said that having to pay off student debt prevented graduates from investing in pensions and mortgages and contributing to society through spending.
"It takes years to recover from that financial burden, particularly for women, due to career breaks and pay inequality", she said.
"What is always overlooked is that education is a benefit to society as well as the individual.
"We're the institutions producing doctors, nurses, engineers, and that is a is a huge benefit to society and therefore society should pay."
Students fear many people will be put off going to university
The NUS said a poll of 1,000 people - conducted by ICM for the NUS to mark Sunday's demonstration - found 74% felt higher costs would deter students.
The survey of 1,019 UK adults found most thought estimated costs of £33,000 for a three-year degree course would put young people off going to university.The survey of 1,019 UK adults found most thought estimated costs of £33,000 for a three-year degree course would put young people off going to university.
The poll was conducted by ICM for the NUS to mark Sunday's demonstration.
The NUS demo, however well-intentioned, is effectively campaigning to entrench middle-class perks Professor Nicholas Barr, London School of Economics
The £33,000 figure was taken from the NatWest Student Money Matters survey, released in August, which suggested sixth formers starting university this year expected to pay £33,512 over three years.
The NUS expects 15,000 students to join the protest calling on the government to reform the new student finance policy.
NUS president Gemma Tumelty said: "This poll shows that the public is saying what we are saying - that top-up fees will deter students, students who have the ability and aspiration to go university but cannot afford the price tag.
"Students are angry, and calls for the £3,000 cap to be lifted are making them angrier.
"It is time that the government stopped spinning this policy and started listening to us, to the students, to those paying the price."
£5.19 a week
But the Minister for Lifelong Learning Further and Higher Education, Bill Rammell, said: "Given the substantial extra income that graduates earn, I believe that it is fair to ask graduates who benefit most to contribute to the cost of their education as well as tax payer."But the Minister for Lifelong Learning Further and Higher Education, Bill Rammell, said: "Given the substantial extra income that graduates earn, I believe that it is fair to ask graduates who benefit most to contribute to the cost of their education as well as tax payer."
Students fear many people will be put off going to university
He said students would not need to start paying back until they were earning.He said students would not need to start paying back until they were earning.
"With the reintroduction of grants worth £2,700 a year and bursaries offered by many universities, students should need to find less cash to support themselves while they are studying. "A graduate earning £18,000 pays back £5.19 per week. This is a fairer system for parents and students and will provide for a stronger university sector."
"A graduate earning £18,000 pays back £5.19 per week. This is a fairer system for parents and students and will provide for a stronger university sector," he said.
Students win supportStudents win support
University and College Union joint general secretary, Paul Mackney, said lecturers backed the call for an abolition of all university fees.University and College Union joint general secretary, Paul Mackney, said lecturers backed the call for an abolition of all university fees.
"Anyone who believes that charging more for degrees is the way to encourage the most able candidates to apply to, or even consider, university is living in a dream world." He said: "Anyone who believes that charging more for degrees is the way to encourage the most able candidates to apply to, or even consider, university is living in a dream world."
He continued: "We now must focus on again winning the argument that higher and variable fees can never solve the problem of chronic under funding in our universities."
The Association of Teachers and Lecturers said any move to remove the £3,000 a year cap on tuition fees would put more people off going to university.The Association of Teachers and Lecturers said any move to remove the £3,000 a year cap on tuition fees would put more people off going to university.
"Students from the poorest families, those most in fear of debt, would choose not to go onto higher education, and only the richest students would be able to afford those universities that charge the highest fees, "said its general secretary, Dr Mary Bousted.
"Access to high quality education should never become the preserve of students from wealthy backgrounds and a few lucky scholarship holders."
'Middle-class perks'
But Professor Nicholas Barr, from the London School of Economics, said the student protest was misguided.
"The NUS demo, however well-intentioned, is effectively campaigning to entrench middle-class perks," he said.
He said students benefited from the end of upfront fees and from the loan for living costs, which reduced dependence on overdrafts and credit card debt.
"The only people who end up paying more than previously are higher-earning graduates whose loan repayments cover higher fees," he said.
"Thus those who campaign to abolish all fees are thus campaigning to benefit tomorrow' s better-off graduates. This cannot be right."