Mike Barnard, 08 October 2008
Welsh students could lose their capped tuition fees and face the same charges as those in England.

The BBC reports a review into student spending has recommended ending the Welsh assembly’s support for all students that enables them to pay lower fees of £1,200 a year rather than the £3,000 students from other parts of the UK spend.

It proposes a targeted system, linked to family income, which could operate from 2011 and provide students from poorer backgrounds with up to £6,000 a year.

The task and finish group, headed up by the vice chancellor of Bangor University, Professor Merfyn Jones, says the proposals would help students with homes in Wales, whose families are on the lowest incomes. Families on the highest incomes would receive very little support.

The BBC states the first part of the report, looking at student debt and widening access, has been submitted to Education Minister Jane Hutt who is expected to formally respond in November.