Where those opposed to raising fees for universities in the UK right?

The independent commission on fees says “Total university applicant numbers in England have dropped by 8.8 % in the first year of higher fees.” Moreover “The decline in student applicants in England for 2012-13 is not mirrored in other parts of the UK where fees have not been increased” which seems to imply that fees are almost certainly responsible for at least some of that decline in applications. Will Hutton, the chair of the Commission, gives a note of caution about reading too much into the figures “Although it is too early to draw any firm conclusions, this study provides initial evidence that increased fees have an impact on application behaviour.” He also pointed out that “On a positive note we are pleased to see that, at this stage, there has been no relative drop-off in applicants from less advantaged neighbourhoods.” This will provide some vindication to everyone who opposed the fee increases for whom their main argument was that an increase in fees would mean that fewer school leavers would feel able to carry on to university. David Willetts, the Universities Minister, however argues that while “We do accept that after a peak last year, applications are down from 31.6% of people applying to university to 30.6%, that is actually still the second highest rate of applications on record."

Debatabase debate This House believes university education should be free http://idebate.org/debatabase/debates/education/house-believes-university-education-should-be-free

http://www.independentcommissionfees.org.uk/wordpress/?page_id=47

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-19182000