Commenting on the decision of the Education Minister to reject bids by Welsh universities to charge £9,000, Angela Burns AM, Shadow Minister for Education, said:
“This unaffordable and ill-considered policy is rapidly unravelling.
“The Minister has put Welsh universities in the impossible situation of either charging the maximum fee or risking severe underfunding compared to universities in England, which can charge higher fees.
“If we want Welsh universities to climb higher up the league table of UK and overseas institutions, we need a well-funded HE sector, where our universities can compete with the best.
“The Minister’s short-sighted proposals could see Welsh students graduate still saddled with debt but with a second tier qualification because of a failure to consider the impact of underfunding on the standard of teaching, facilities and research.
“The Welsh Labour Government needs to start engaging with the Higher Education sector to listen to their concerns and go back to the drawing board with their own policies.”
