Oxford chancellor's call for higher fees is at odds with general public's view

The University and College Union (UCU) yesterday rejected the call from Oxford University chancellor, Lord Patten, to relax the current £3,000-a-year cap on university tuition fees. Responding to Lord Patten's speech at the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference (HMC) in central London, UCU general secretary, Sally Hunt said: "Lord Patten's view that parents should embrace the removal of the university tuition fee cap is not one shared by the general public. A recent YouGov poll revealed that, as well as opposing any increase in fees, the majority of people in Britain back a university funding system that is at no cost to the student or their family."
Hunt continued: "UCU belives we need a fair system where every potential student has the opportunity to maximise their potential, irrespective of how much their parents may be willing to pay or what they can actually afford. Increasing fees or the other financial barriers that so many students and parents come up against when considering university is certainly not the way to deliver such a system."