DESPITE Keir Starmer once pledging he would abolish tuition fees, the UK Government is set to announce they will be going up from September next year at English universities.
Tuition fees are currently set at £9250 a year and have been at that level since 2017, but there have been calls from university leaders for fees to rise.
Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson has announced fees will rise to £9535 from April next year.
How will it affect me?
If you’re living in Scotland and have plans to study at a Scottish university, then this will not affect you as university tuition is free in this instance.
However, it is not automatic, as you need to apply to the Student Awards Agency Scotland (SAAS) to have your tuition fees paid for you.
To be eligible for home fee status and student support, including free tuition, student loans, bursaries, and grants, students must have a ‘relevant connection’ with Scotland, which means they must be “settled” in the UK and “ordinarily resident” in Scotland on the date a course starts.
Westminster only sets fees for England but in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland they are fixed by the devolved governments.
What if I’m from rest of UK and want to study in Scotland?
If you are a student from elsewhere in the UK and wish to study in Scotland, you’ll come under the “rest of UK” fee, which is currently capped at £9250 – the same as in England.
The Scottish Government has said it is considering the impact of the rise in fees in England for students from the rest of the UK studying in Scotland.
A spokesperson said: “We are aware of the UK Government’s decision to increase tuition fees for the 2025/26 academic year and are currently considering the impact of this change for students from the rest of the UK studying in Scotland.
“The Scottish Government is resolutely committed to free tuition for Scottish-domiciled students.”
Scottish Education Secretary Jenny Gilruth criticised the UK Government for the hike and said education "should not be based on people's ability to pay".
There is a third fee category in Scotland for overseas students which are set by institutions.
Do higher tuition fees mean I’ll pay more?
Not in most cases. Tuition fees are usually paid for you by the Student Loans Company in England and you will only repay the loan afterwards if you earn above a certain threshold.
The amount you repay each year depends on what you earn, not what you have borrowed.
So really, the only people that will be paying more are the ones who manage to clear their loan in full before it gets written off. The time period you have before your loan is written off – which can be up to 40 years – varies depending on when you received your first loan and more information can be found here.
Money Saving Expert founder Martin Lewis has posted a helpful thread on Twitter/X explaining how the news directly impacts you.
IMPORTANT PLS SHARE. It's rumoured the English £9,250 tuition fee cap may be raised this pm for the 1st time in 8yrs, as University's finances are strained. As student finance misunderstandings abound, I've bashed out a few notes to help... 1. Higher tuition fees WON'T change…
— Martin Lewis (@MartinSLewis) November 4, 2024
He believes a much bigger problem than high tuition fees is the fact maintenance loans have not kept pace with inflation.
Phillipson has announced there is set to be an increase to maintenance loans in line with inflation to help with living costs - an increase of £414 per year in 2025/26.
