Majority of students oppose Government’s decision to raise tuition fees – poll
But the increase in maintenance support has made the move ‘more palatable’, a think tank has suggested.
More than two in three students oppose the Labour Government’s decision to increase university tuition fees in England, a poll has suggested.
The majority (56%) of students do not agree that raising fees is “necessary” to provide more money to institutions facing financial challenges, according to the poll carried out for the Higher Education Policy Institute (Hepi) think tank.
It comes after the Government announced in November that undergraduate tuition fees in England, which have been frozen at £9,250 since 2017, would rise to £9,535 for the 2025-26 academic year.
Universities have warned of financial concerns as a result of frozen tuition fees paid by domestic students and a fall in the number of overseas students.
The poll of 1,105 students domiciled in England, conducted by Savanta, found that 68% of students said they oppose the tuition fee increase.
Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson also announced that maintenance loans will increase in line with inflation in the 2025-26 academic year to help students with their living costs.
The survey, carried out in November and December after the announcement on fees and maintenance loans, found that support for the changes rose when the increase in maintenance support was considered.
Once the maintenance rise is included, a similar proportion of students said they thought the announcement is “entirely” or “mostly” a good thing (32%) as those who said it is “entirely” or “mostly” a bad thing (31%), the poll found.
Josh Freeman, author of the Hepi research, said: “The rise in tuition fees came as a relief to higher education institutions.
“These results show students oppose the increase in swathes and are sceptical of the argument that universities need more money.
“But while students voted for Labour in large numbers at the last election, the move may not be politically costly for the Government, for several reasons.
“As maintenance support went up at the same time, the fee rise was made more palatable.
“Unlike the Liberal Democrats in 2010, Labour made no tuition fee commitment in its Election Manifesto, so this rise does not break its promises to the electorate.
“And by the time of the next election, most current students will have graduated – so fee rises are unlikely to be their top priority.”
A spokesperson for Universities UK (UUK) said: “Maintenance funding has fallen in value in real terms over several years.
“That’s why we called for maintenance to be uprated in line with inflation alongside the inflationary uplift in the fee.
“Neither can be allowed to reduce in real value year after year, without negatively impacting the experience of students.
“While the decision to raise fees was unlikely to be popular, it was the right thing to do.
“We have to ensure that we maintain the high quality of education (that) students rightly expect, and that cannot be done with income which goes down year after year.”
A Department for Education (DfE) spokesperson said: “Due to the dire economic situation we inherited, this Government has taken tough decisions to put universities on a firm footing while targeting support for students from the lowest income families.
“We are committed to restoring universities as engines of opportunity, growth and aspiration. Our package of far-reaching reform will end the cycle of students being asked to pay more while getting less.
“We will fix the foundations of higher education to deliver change for students.”
