People Before Profit Councillor Shaun Harkin has hit out at suggestions from the Vice Chancellor of Ulster University, Paul Bartholomew, that student fees should be increased to over £9000.
Professor Bartholomew during an event at Magee argued that in order to increase student numbers there would have to be a significant rise in student fees.
Councillor Harkin said, “It is cynical for the Ulster University Vice Chancellor to tie Magee expansion with increased student tuition fees.
The proposal to raise tuition fees flies in the face of common sense. You do not increase student numbers by almost doubling the fees they pay.’
A new report by the Royal Irish Academy was recently presented to Council.
The report is clear that student fees should be reduced and other measures implemented to incentivise students to choose Magee as their university destination.
The report by the Academy, ‘Finding common ground, building community: strengthening and stimulating tertiary regional collaboration in the north-west on the island of Ireland’, lays out a realistic future for university expansion.
Increasing tuition fees will likely deter prospective students, particularly those from working-class backgrounds, from pursuing higher education.
Historical data supports this concern. Since the introduction of student fees and the elimination of grants, access to third-level education for working-class students has significantly declined.
A National Union of Students (NUS) report highlighted that the number of working-class students entering higher education dropped by 10% following the introduction of tuition fees.
In a 2024 NUS poll, 84% of students called for tuition fees to be abolished.
This financial strain discourages many potential students from enrolling in university, fearing the long-term economic impact. This is why UCU, the trade union representing university staff, opposes higher student fees.
Increasing tuition fees will exacerbate existing inequalities and further restrict access to higher education for those who need it most.
We need to reduce student fees with the intention of abolishing them completely.”
