TUITION FEES

Early day motion 282, tabled 22 July 1997 by Ken Livingstone (Labour). Signed by 19 members.

That this House believes that a modern mass system of higher education, in which students advance on the basis of academic ability rather than social background or financial resources, is vital for the economic success of this country into the next millennium; and further believes that the proposal to charge tuition fees and abolish maintenance grants for students for higher education contradicts these principles and would create a system within which ability to pay took precedence over academic ability restricting access to higher education for potential students from less privileged backgrounds and quite possibly leading, as the Australian experience shows, to still higher fees and differential levels of fees for more prestigious courses and institutions.

Signatures by party: Labour 16, Labour/Co-operative 1, Liberal Democrat 1, UUP 1.