London November 12:
The UK government`s plans to increase fees for undergraduate study is only meant for British and EU students and will not affect international students, including Indians.
At an average, home and EU students pay around £3000 for an undergraduate course, and now the government plans to treble fees. David Willetts, UK minister for universities and science, currently visiting India, told media the hike is not going to affect Indian students.
The hike for home students is intended to reduce the dependence of universities on the public funding system. Home and EU students will now be offered a universal loan system according to which students repay his or her individual loan after achieving an earning capacity of £21,000 per annum.
Ritu Gupta, general manager, University of Leeds South Asia Office, New Delhi, pointed out that the fee hike for home EU students may turn out to be good news for Indian students. According to her, this will reduce the chances of Indian students being used as a major source of revenue. Instead, she says, it will be a level playing ground and Indian students will no longer have to compensate for the deficit caused by home students.
For many years, higher education in the UK has been subsidised for home EU students. For example, in science, the subsidy has been £10,000 per year, which was being funded by the taxpayer.
The UK government`s plans to increase fees for undergraduate study is only meant for British and EU students and will not affect international students, including Indians.
At an average, home and EU students pay around £3000 for an undergraduate course, and now the government plans to treble fees. David Willetts, UK minister for universities and science, currently visiting India, told media the hike is not going to affect Indian students.
The hike for home students is intended to reduce the dependence of universities on the public funding system. Home and EU students will now be offered a universal loan system according to which students repay his or her individual loan after achieving an earning capacity of £21,000 per annum.
Ritu Gupta, general manager, University of Leeds South Asia Office, New Delhi, pointed out that the fee hike for home EU students may turn out to be good news for Indian students. According to her, this will reduce the chances of Indian students being used as a major source of revenue. Instead, she says, it will be a level playing ground and Indian students will no longer have to compensate for the deficit caused by home students.
For many years, higher education in the UK has been subsidised for home EU students. For example, in science, the subsidy has been £10,000 per year, which was being funded by the taxpayer.
