England's tuition fees to rise with inflation

Amid fears of a growing financial crisis among universities in England, the UK government is expected to announce that tuition fees will rise in tandem with inflation over the next three years.

Following last month's announcement of England's first tuition fee rise in eight years, Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson is set to unveil the plans for fees to exceed 10,000 pounds ($12,700) during this parliament, reported the Financial Times newspaper.

Tuition fees in England, frozen at 9,250 pounds since 2017, were raised last month to 9,535 pounds for the 2025-26 academic year.

Rampant inflation has eroded the real-term value of tuition fees, prompting university leaders to seek government help as institutions become increasingly dependent on higher-paying foreign students to manage their financial struggles.

Government sources informed the FT that the fee increases will be part of Labour's upcoming three-year public spending review, with institutions required to implement reforms as a condition of the higher payments.

With the UK's independent fiscal watchdog, the Office for Budget Responsibility, forecasting annual inflation of just above 2 percent until 2028, linking fees to inflation over the next three years could push tuition costs above 10,000 pounds.

As part of Labour's economic growth strategy, Phillipson aims to enhance academic standards and boost university contributions to innovation.

Following last year's abrupt slowdown in profitable international student enrollment, university administrators indicated that adjusting fees in line with inflation would help stabilize the sector's finances. International enrollment dropped 30 percent at some universities due to previous Conservative government policies.

Analysts warn that with institutions facing a 3.4 billion-pound income decline and losing 2,500 pounds per domestic student, the fee increase last month barely offsets new employers' national insurance costs announced in the recent UK budget, providing only an 18 million-pound net gain annually.

"It's nothing like enough," said Nick Hillman, director of the Higher Education Policy Institute think tank.

jonathan@mail.chinadailyuk.com