Tuition fees preserving quality?

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15 november 2011 | In an interview with the New York Times David Willets, British higher education minister, argues that Britain had no other choice but allowing their universities to triple their tuition fees. Did David Cameron’s government choose the lesser evil?

For the 2011/2012 academic year, England will allow itsuniversities to triple their tuition fees. David Willets, Britishhigher education minister, is designated to implement this policy.At the same time, he is also known to criticize that nowadays toogreat of a burden is put on the young generation while baby boomersbenefited from free higher education and social benefits.

In an interview with the New York Times, Willets elaborates onhow he reconciles these two views. According to him, the Britishgovernment had no other choice but allowing universities toincrease their tuition fees.

“The alternatives would either have been to reduce studentnumbers, when I do think that going to university is alife-transforming experience, or just to have reduced the amount ofresource per student, with the risk that you have ill-equippedlibraries and out-of-date lab equipment,” said Willets in theinterview.

To read the full interview, click here.