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Are universities price fixing tuition fees?
April 20, 2008 9:16 AM
The competitive market in higher education has been a massive failure
As students now try to find the tuition money to take up their university place Lib Dems say the Government's aim for a competitive market in higher education has been a complete failure.
With all but three universities charging the maximum £3,000 fee for a degree, including Cambridge and Anglia Ruskin, Lib Dems say it is clear that the upper limit is taken as a flat rate price that has no relationship to the tuition for a particular subject.
Jonathan Chatfield the Lib Dems parliamentary spokesperson for south east Cambridgeshire said:
"If universities were companies they'd be up before the Competition Commission for price fixing.
"We've seen students at Bristol University protesting at what they get for their tuition fees.
"It's clear the universities take the maximum permitted amount as a right which takes no account of the actual tuition given.
"Meanwhile thousands of students are forced on to the road of lifelong debt by these fees and they have no choice about it.
"Only Lib Dems are opposed to tuition fees and have long said that you can't bring further education funding into the market place.
"The way universities are behaving in going for as much as they are allowed to get for every course shows we were right."
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