Government 'avoiding scrutiny' over tuition fee rises

The government has come under fire for introducing tuition fees rises without any announcement from the Department for Education.  Fees will rise from £9,000 to £9,250 per year, and will affect 500,000 students.

It has emerged that the government published regulations which would allow fees to rise on www.legislation.gov.uk last week, with nothing published by the Department of Education.

Liberal Democrat leader criticised this move, saying "This is a shabby little way to announce something, hiding it away in a far-flung corner of a government website. This shows the government at their worst, avoiding scrutiny and debate."

The Department of Education released a statement emphasising that universities will have to pass "rigorous quality standards" in order to charge the highest amounts.  However this initial rise of £750 per year more than what current students pay will be available to nearly all universities.  Moreover they will be able to apply it to current students as well as ones starting in 2017, though not all are choosing to do so.