Welsh students to escape top-up fees – sort of
Students living in Wales will not have to pay top-up fees after all, but only if they go to a Welsh university.
After weeks of political wrangling, a deal has finally been done in the Welsh Assembly which would mean Welsh students continue to pay a flat rate of £1,200 if they stay in Wales, but their English and Scottish colleagues would be liable for top-up fees – likely to be the full £3,000 a year from 2007. Welsh students who decide to study outside Wales would also have to pay top-up fees.
The four Assembly parties are rather chuffed about the deal – Labour was pleased to be lifting the "cloud of uncertainty", the Conservatives called it a "significant victory", and the Lib Dems "a great deal for Welsh students".
Plaid Cymru's assembly leader got closest to the point: "This agreement should encourage a higher number of Welsh students to stay in Wales and will not offer incentives for English students to come here to avoid paying top-up fees."
In other words, it's a deal to keep Wales Welsh, the English out and effectively bribe Welsh students to stay put. The parties are happy because the compromise suits each of their agendas – staying in government and getting out of a hole for Labour, no top-up fees for the Lib Dems and the Tories, and Wales über alles for Plaid.
Less happy are the Welsh universities, despite a guarantee from Labour to make up the difference caused by not being able to charge £3,000 for everyone. Higher Education Wales is worried about a "brain drain" of academics leaving Wales, while students from England won't be keen to go to universities where most of the population pays at least £2,800 less than them.
It's not that great a deal for Welsh students either. Apart from limiting choice, particularly for the poorest students, as yet we don't even know when the fees will have to be paid: up-front, as they are now, or later, as with top-up fees? Nothing yet appears to have been arranged for part-time students, either.
NUS Wales gave the deal a cautious welcome, but said it too had yet to see the detail. "We're glad to hear that the government have made this commitment to Welsh students, however, it must be backed up with adequate student support to give students the means to live while they are studying," said Acting President Andrew Wilson.
"We've also got to remember that Welsh students make up less than half of the student population in Wales, so there is still a large group of students who will be paying the full amount."
A bursary scheme has been promised but, as with the rest of the deal, no details have yet been made available. Before any of it can go ahead there will have to be a vote in the Assembly, which could happen as early as tomorrow.
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