Tuition fee rise won't cover NI hike

A planned rise in tuition fees will not offset the increase in National Insurance (NI) contributions announced in the Budget, according to a university.

Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson announced on Monday students would pay more for university tuition in England, with an increase of £285 on undergraduate fees.

Prof Ian Dunn, Coventry University's provost, said the move would lead to "between about £1.5m to £2m of additional income" for the university, but raising NI contributions was a "£3m increase on our costs".

He added that while universities were under financial pressure and tuition fees had been stagnant, it was not the right time to hike them and risk putting students off joining.

Universities had been calling for fees, their main source of income, to rise to help ease pressure on their budgets amid ongoing financial challenges.

The announcement affects fees and loans in the 2025/26 academic year, with undergraduate tuition fees now set to be £9,535 a year.

Universities UK, which represents 141 universities, had previously suggested tuition fees would need to rise to £12,500 a year to meet teaching costs.

Prof Dunn said Coventry University was looking "really hard" at its finances and was concerned raising fees now could prove counterproductive.

He said it was instead a moment for the government to rethink the way in which it funded universities.

"Tuition fees haven't moved since 2017," he said. "And university costs have gone up in the mean time like everyone else's costs.

"We don't think now is a moment for an increase to tuition fees. We would say right now... towards the end of a cost-of-living crisis, now is not the moment to increase tuition fees and to put students off."

Ms Philipson told MPs on Monday that maintenance loans would go up to assist students with the cost of living.

The government said the increases to tuition fees and maintenance loans were in line with inflation.

Prof Dunn said most students at Coventry University were working jobs in addition to their maintenance loans to "pay their way" through their degrees.

"We've seen an increase in the numbers of students from disadvantaged backgrounds going to universities," he added.

"It is my view personally... that even more would have done so if there wasn't a tuition fee in the first place."