A Government-commissioned review has set out a series of recommendations to reform the post-secondary school education system.
Here are answers to some of the key questions about the report:
– What is the Post-18 Education and Funding Review?
Prime Minister Theresa May launched the review, led by former banker Philip Augar, in February 2018 to investigate the funding, access, choice and skills of post-18 education.
Tuition fees in England were trebled in 2012, and the vast majority of courses cost the maximum of £9,250 per year.
According to estimates by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS), the average student can leave university owing more than £50,000.
Students who started their course after September 2012 begin paying their loans back when they earn more than £25,725 a year and the loans are normally written off 30 years after repayments start.
– What is being proposed?
The review recommends slashing maximum tuition fees to £7,500, reintroducing maintenance grants of at least £3,000 a year, and extending the loan repayment period from 30 to 40 years.
It has also suggested changing the earning threshold for repaying the loans from £25,000 a year to median non-graduate earnings, which is around £23,000 at 2017-18 prices.
– How much is it going to cost?
The review estimates that in England the recommendations will need an extra £1 billion in one-off capital investment and cost between £300 million and £600 million a year.
– What does it mean for students?
Current students will not be affected because the recommendations are proposed to be introduced in 2021-22, said Martin Lewis, founder of MoneySavingExpert.
– What does it mean for universities?
While a drop in tuition fees means universities will receive less income from students, the panel proposes the Government should replace the lost fee in full by increasing the teaching grant.
– What happens next?
