Tuition fees: the ongoing debate

Professor Andy Green, Centre for Learning and Life Chances in Knowledge Economies and Societies (LLAKES), comments on the current state of tuition fees.

He argues that the system is fundamentally flawed:

"We're loading one generation of graduates with huge amounts of debt - in some cases up to £55k - which they have to pay back at the same time as paying back historically high proportions of earning on mortgages and rents. It's costing the tax payer a great deal more than the design of the system ever thought it would and it's basing the future of university finance on a pile of debt."

Professor Green proposes an all age graduate tax to finance first degree higher education in England. This would mean a tax on all graduates earning above a threshold - for example, the £21k threshold we have at the moment for loans - and the tax should be paid by graduates who are in employment of all ages . Listen: BBC Radio 4 The World Tonight (from 36 minutes 34 seconds to 39 minutes 13 seconds).

Related links

• Previous media coverage
• New book proposes all-age graduate tax

Image: graduates (courtesy of E.W. Scripps School of Journalism).