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This was despite a Labour manifesto promise reading:
"We have no plans to introduce University top-up fees, and have legislated to prevent their introduction".
The Labour Party have publicly defended this decision, by saying that the manifesto commitments only apply to the current (2001 - 2006?) Parliament, and that the legislation introducing top-up fees will not take effect this Parliament. However, many members and supporters of the Labour Party, as well as many Labour MPs, are angry at this mechanism of defence.
Fees will operate as follows (figures are given for the academic year 2003-04, and may rise by no more than inflation until 2010):
Universities will be able to charge students anything from zero up to a maximum of £3000 per year. In order to charge more than a basic £1,200 fee universities must satisfy a new Office for Fair Access that their admissions policies are equitable.
Rather than pay the fees upfront, students will be able to take out a "fee loan" from the Students Loan Company, and repayments will be repaid after graduation on a sliding scale for incomes over £15,000 per annum.
To soften the blow of increased fees, student loans for living costs will be increased, while maintenance grants for the poorest students on the most expensive courses will rise to a maximum £2,700, with £300 or more coming from University bursaries.
Since each institution will be able to vary the fee they charge from £0 to £3,000, and be able to keep the revenue raised this way, the Government claim this means that over-subscribed and popular universities can charge more money, while institutions that may be struggling can charge less to attract more students. The abolishment of upfront fees should encourage more young people to apply.
However, due to the current funding crisis in education, it is likely that many institutions will be forced to charge the full fee, removing this incentive. Instead, critics claim students will be put off from studying due to the large amount of debt they will have to incur to study, with only rich families being able to afford this amount of debt, thus making higher education less available to all.