Tuition Fees: An Observation

University tuition fees in England have went up. The maximum fee for undergraduate home students increased from £9,250 to £9,535 for the 2025-26 academic year, a 3.1% increase. This is the first increase since 2017 and applies to both new and existing students.

The UK education system is on the brink of collapse, as rising tuition fees, worsening student welfare, and financial mismanagement converge into a growing crisis. Since 2012, tuition fees have climbed to £9,250, with expectations that they could have risen to £10,500 under a Labour government and it was also being touted as higher - £12,500 to keep universities solvent. 

Alarmingly, 40% of universities are expected to run a deficit this year, highlighting the unsustainable nature of the current funding model. Meanwhile, vice chancellors, acting more like corporate executives, continue to claim exorbitant expenses—over £140,000 in the last two years alone at institutions like Manchester Metropolitan University and the London School of Economics—while students shoulder increasing financial burdens.

Compounding this financial strain, the mental health crisis among young people is deepening. Between 2017 and 2022, the number of students seeking mental health support rose from 12% to 18%, with the pandemic driving a 40% surge in eating disorders, especially among girls aged 13 to 16. Educational outcomes are also in decline, with literacy rates falling from 65% to 59% between 2018-19 and 2021-22. This multi-faceted crisis demonstrates how the system is failing students academically, emotionally, and financially.

Despite these issues, figures like Peter Mandelson—an architect of New Labour in 1997 and an advisor to Keir Starmer in 2021—continue to advocate for inflation-linked tuition fee hikes, reinforcing a market-driven approach that commodifies education. Mandelson's corporate-friendly politics are anathema to the transformative changes needed. His vision would deepen inequality and further alienate students from the education system.

To address this crisis, we need to abolish tuition fees and establish a democratically run, publicly funded education system. The current model, which prioritizes profits over people, is unsustainable, as shown by the financial struggles of nearly half of UK universities. Education must be reclaimed as a public good, not a business venture. The solution lies not with corporate politicians but with a genuine workers' party that prioritizes students, educators, and communities. Only through democratic control and public investment can we build an equitable education system that serves everyone, ensuring access and opportunity for all.