Most unis will charge £9K say NUS

NUS president Aaron Porter has predicted that the majority of universities in England will charge the maximum yearly tuition fee of £9,000.

Porter states that his ‘behind the scenes conversations’ with university heads have shown him that the charging of highest fees will be common.

"The government made promises to get the tuition fees through the vote - but I don't believe they can deliver," he said.

"They said that £9,000 would only be charged in exceptional circumstances, but I suspect that 50%, 60%, 70% are going to charge £9,000.

"From the conversations I've had behind the scenes, universities believe that the price they set will be a sign of quality - and they will charge whatever they can get away with."

But Nicola Dandridge from Universities UK has rejected Porter’s claims saying it is too early to speculate. She says that universities have not yet made pricing decisions and so there is no way of knowing the levels of fees that will be charged.

A spokesperson for the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills also warns that "irresponsibly" high fees will put pressure on public funding.

"Higher fees mean higher loans, which are heavily subsidised by the taxpayer, so if universities act irresponsibly by setting their fees too high it will have an impact on other funding streams in later years."