In the news today, in the middle of the joyous 2024/2025 freshers' week, universities (notably in England) are calling for tuition fees to go up , despite students in England (and Wales) already facing an alarming reality when it comes to university costs! With annual undergraduate tuition fees of up to £9,250, plus accommodation and maintenance expenses, many students graduate with a degree and £50,000 or more of debt. Even though repayment is income-based, this debt can feel like a financial burden that lingers for decades, especially as interest rates fluctuate. This situation raises the question: why are English (& Welsh) students straddled with debt when many European students (as well as Scottish and Northern Irish students) study for free or at significantly lower costs?
UK graduates vs. European peers: a debt gap
In stark contrast to England & Wales, students in countries like Germany, Norway, and Austria often pay little to no tuition fees. Germany abolished tuition fees in 2014, and Scandinavian countries, such as Norway, have long offered free higher education. While UK students face years of debt, their European peers graduate debt-free, giving them a significant advantage as they enter the workforce. Furthermore, students on the continent often attend universities in or near their home town, enabling them to live at home.
Additionally, UK students now miss out on EU tuition rates post-Brexit, which previously granted them access to low-cost education across Europe. However, some countries, such as Germany and Norway, still offer low or no-cost education to international students, indeed a survey in 2023 showed in FE News revealed that 'UK students can find cheaper undergraduate degrees in any EU country!' but many UK students aren’t even aware of these affordable opportunities abroad or they lack the confidence and/or language skills to consider them.
Why is higher education so expensive in the UK?
The main reason for the difference in tuition fees boils down to government investment. In many European countries, higher education is seen as a public good, funded through public taxes and government subsidies. In the UK, however, education is increasingly viewed as a private investment, with students expected to shoulder the cost. This shift has led to a situation where universities charge high fees to cover operational costs, research funding, and international competitiveness.
What are the options?
A tax-based funding model
As in many European countries, by increasing public investment in higher education, the government could alleviate the financial burden on students and make university accessible to a broader demographic. This approach would also recognise education as a social good that benefits the entire country by creating a well-educated workforce. Also, businesses that benefit from a well-educated workforce could contribute by partnering with universities or investing directly in education initiatives.
Efficiency in uni spending
European universities often run more efficiently, with leaner administrative structures and lower operational costs, allowing them to offer affordable or free education. If UK universities could streamline their spending and reduce unnecessary overheads, they could lower tuition fees without sacrificing the quality of education.
A new approach to higher education in the UK
The high cost of UK university tuition reflects deeper issues in how education is prioritised and funded. By learning from the European model—where education is seen as a right, not a privilege—the UK could reform its system to make higher education more affordable and accessible. This change would benefit both students and society as a whole, ensuring that graduates are not burdened by years of debt.
Going forward - a personal reflection
I look back on my own university experience in the UK with great fondness. When I studied, tuition fees were so much lower and yet we we had so many more hours of lectures and seminars than students seem to have today. I can’t help but feel for today’s students who are having to juggle part-time jobs, reduced in-person delivery of education and the prospect of so much debt at the end. It’s not that we should turn back the clock entirely, but it is surely time to reconsider how we fund and value higher education in this country. While we can’t copy the European model wholesale, we should at least learn from how other cultures view education. For them, it’s about accessibility, social good, and investing in the future. In the UK, it often feels like it’s about profit margins. Maybe it’s time to change that.
Keir Starmer reversed his pledge to abolish tuition fees in order to save the NHS, but, I believe it's time to consider a bolder approach, in which the government invests in its young people and businesses step up to support education. The goal should be to create a system that prioritises accessibility and fairness over profit and that gives UK graduates the same no/low-debt start as their European peers, as they all enter the global workforce. We should also load up our young people with language skills and the knowledge that they can still study in Europe and beyond, at a lower cost than in the UK and with all the incredible life skills and experience such an opportunity would bring them.
By rethinking how we fund universities, focusing on efficiency, and viewing education as a public good, we could relieve the burden on future generations and create a more equitable higher education system. It's time to ask: if Europe can do it, why can’t we?
Comments