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One should never monkey around with society too much; if we do, we may find that history has some unpleasant surprises up its sleeve for us. (a statement from) Anthony Crosland’s, The Future of Socialism (1956)
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Tuition Fees History (in the United Kingdom)
Jump to TIMELINE of Tuition Fees History, LINK HERE: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_tuition_fees_in_the_United_Kingdom#Timeline
Reintroduction of University Tuition Fees in 1998.
Tuition fees in the United Kingdom were reintroduced for full-time resident students in 1998, as a means of funding tuition to undergraduate and postgraduate certificate students at universities. Since their introduction, the fees have been reformed multiple times by several bills. English, Welsh and Northern Irish students studying in Scotland would pay a total of £3,000 for a four-year course in 1998. Thereafter, fees would later be amended to circa £3,000 a year in 2006, £9,000 a year in 2012, and £10,000 a year for Post-grad loans in 2016. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_tuition_fees_in_the_United_Kingdom#Introduction_of_the_fees:_The_Teaching_and_Higher_Education_Act_1998
Fees prior to 1962.
Before the Education Act 1962, fees existed in the United Kingdom - usually making up around a third of a university's income, the remainder supported by state subsidies and other sources of income. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_tuition_fees_in_the_United_Kingdom#Fees_prior_to_1962
Education Act 1962 and FREE TUITION FEES 1962–1998. (two articles)
The Education Act 1962 gave local education authorities in the United Kingdom a mandate to pay the tuition of students attending full-time first degree (or comparable) courses and to provide them with a maintenance grant. No repayment was required. Most local education authorities had already been paying students' tuition fees and providing maintenance grants since the Second World War. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_Act_1962
David Eccles, Secretary of State for Education, under Harold Macmillan's Conservative Government, published the Education Act 1962, which granted an exemption for "ordinarily resident", full-time, students from University tuition fees, along with introducing a right to a means-tested maintenance grant. Fees remained in place for part-time and non-resident (overseas) students. The act remained in place till repealed in 1998. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_tuition_fees_in_the_United_Kingdom#1962%E2%80%931998
Dearing Report 1996.
In May 1996 (see Tuition Fees timeline LINK HERE), Gillian Shephard, Secretary of State for Education and Employment, commissioned an inquiry, led by the then Chancellor of the University of Nottingham, Sir Ron Dearing, into the funding of British higher education over the next 20 years. This National Committee of Inquiry into Higher Education reported to the new-Labour Government, in the summer of 1997, stating additional billions of funding would be needed over the period, including £350 million in 1998-9 and £565 million in 1999–2000, in order to expand student enrolment, provide more support for part-time students and ensure an adequate infrastructure. The committee, as part of its brief, had controversially investigated the possibility of Students contributing to the cost of this expansion, either through Loans, a Graduate tax, Deferred contributions or means testing state assistance, as their report notes:
Gillian Shephard - was the Tory MP who reported to the new-Labour Government; effectively rubber stamping Tuition Fees introduction.
(ENQUIRY NOTE) 20.40 We do not underestimate the strength of feeling on the issue of seeking a contribution towards tuition costs: nor do we dispute the logic of the arguments put forward. A detailed assessment of the issues has, however, convinced us that the arguments in favour of a contribution to tuition costs from graduates in work are strong, if not widely appreciated. They relate to equity between social groups, broadening participation, equity with part-time students in higher education and in further education, strengthening the student role in higher education, and identifying a new source of income that can be ring-fenced for higher education.
(ENQUIRY NOTE) 20.41 We have, therefore, analysed the implications of a range of options against the criteria set out in paragraph 20.2. There is a wide array of options from which to choose, ranging from asking graduates to contribute only to their living costs through to asking all graduates to contribute to their tuition costs. We have chosen to examine four options in depth.
The inquiry favoured means tested tuition fees and the continuation of the means tested maintenance grants as well as student loans. It recommended that graduates made a flat rate contribution of 25 percent of the cost of higher education tuition and that a mechanism for paying for this should be established by 1998–9. Following the publication of the report, the Labour education secretary David Blunkett proposed the Teaching and Higher Education Act 1998, on 26 November 1997, to introduce means tested tuition fees from September 1998. He also announced that the student maintenance grant would be abolished and replaced by student loans.
The government issued a response entitled "Higher Education in the 21st Century" to the Dearing Report. It stated "The Government plans to introduce an annual tuition fee of £1,000, representing about a quarter of the average cost of a course. Tuition will continue to be free for students from lower income families. Other full-time students will pay up to £1,000 per year depending on parental income. The cost of the fees will be balanced by increased loans for maintenance, also related to parental income. The overall effect will be that the total contribution required from the parents will be no greater than it is now."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_tuition_fees_in_the_United_Kingdom#Dearing_Report
2010 United Kingdom student protests. (main article)
The 2010 United Kingdom student protests were a series of demonstrations in November and December 2010 that took place in several areas of the country, with the focal point of protests being in central London. Largely student-led, the protests were held in opposition to planned spending cuts to further education and an increase of the cap on tuition fees by the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government following their review into higher education funding in England. Student groups said that the intended cuts to education were excessive, would damage higher education, give students higher debts, and broke campaign promises made by politicians.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010_United_Kingdom_student_protests
Protests against the proposals (2010).
On 10 November 2010 students staged the first in a series of marches to demonstrate against the proposed increase in the rise in tuition fees. The demonstrations in London received negative publicity after a group of protesters attacked the Conservative party headquarters. The National Union of Students, who had staged the protests, condemned the violence as "despicable" with union president Aaron Porter saying "this was not part of our plan". Protests continued on 24 November 2010 with the National Campaign Against Fees and Cuts (NCAFC) organising a mass national walk out of education and protest. The police came under fire for the practice of "penning in" protesters for long periods with Simon Hardy, the spokesperson for NCAFC describing the tactics as "absolutely outrageous". On 30 November 2010 further protests were held in London with demonstrators congregating in Trafalgar Square as well as in other cities around the UK. The protests in London resulted in 153 arrests and with the National Campaign Against Fees and Cuts accusing the police of pre-emptively "blocking" the protest route and so keeping them in the square. The police replied that they never had "any intention to contain the protesters." On 9 December 2010, the day of the House of Commons vote on whether to approve measures which could see the rise in tuition fees, further demonstrations were held in London. The protests, this time policed by 2800 officers, saw tensions running high and angry scenes as the debate on the proposals was discussed in the Commons.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_tuition_fees_in_the_United_Kingdom#Protests_against_the_proposals
2011 London anti-cuts protest. (Anti cuts march).
In May 2010, the United Kingdom general election resulted in a hung parliament and the Conservative Party and Liberal Democrats' entered into a coalition government. The Conservative leader David Cameron became Prime Minister and Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg became Deputy Prime Minister. Controversy arose surrounding the Liberal Democrats' decision to abandon their pledge to oppose increases in tuition fees, which had previously been a key issue that won the party support from students. The march was four months after the 2010 student protests which focused on spending cuts and changes to higher and further education. The march was organised by the Trades Union Congress (TUC) and promoted as the March for the Alternative.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_London_anti-cuts_protest#Background
2011 England riots (over trebling of university tuition fees).
The 2011 England riots, more widely known as the London Riots, were a series of riots between 6 and 11 August 2011. The spending cuts of the coalition government in the United Kingdom have also been cited as a cause. Scrapping of the Education Maintenance Allowance, removing of funding for courses where the student already has an equal or lower level qualification and trebling of university tuition fees, combined with high youth unemployment has placed the British youth "between a rock and a hard place" alienating and angering the youth population. Proponents of this argument say that Scottish youth did not riot partly because Scottish students do not have to pay tuition fees.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_England_riots#Government_cuts
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