Middle class students can afford fees, Oxford says
The call will alarm parents who already fear the review, led by former BP boss Lord Browne, will see tuition fees double to £7,000 a year
London: Middle class students should be barred from taking out subsidised tuition fee loans so funding can be focused on the poor, Oxford University has said.
In a submission to the British Government's review of higher education funding, the university says the current system is too generous to the middle classes. Although it does not specify a wealth level at which state help should stop, some experts believe families with annual incomes of more than £25,000 (Dh140,000) would be hit.
The call will alarm parents who already fear the review, led by former BP boss Lord Browne, will see tuition fees double to £7,000 a year.
Students starting university this year will all be entitled to a subsidised state loan for the £3,290 tuition fee. They are also entitled to a maintenance loan and, for families with incomes of less than £50,000, a non-repayable maintenance grant.
The total bill to the taxpayer is £2.7 billion a year.
Oxford argued: "The subsidy is expensive, while student support is not effectively targeted at those with the greatest financial need."
Oxford's view has been supported by Wendy Piatt, of the prestigious Russell Group of top universities, who said 30 per cent of state support went to "better-off" students.
