Students would 'bear the brunt' of proposed tuition fee rises

Students in Northern Ireland would "bear the brunt" of a rise in tuition fees of over £1,000, called for by university leaders.

That is according to Ben Friel, the president of the National Union of Students and Union of Students in Ireland (NUS-USI).

Leaders of Northern Ireland's five universities and university colleges have called for student tuition fees to rise by more than £1,000 a year.

They have written to the leaders of the five main political parties asking for tuition fees to rise to £5,831 a year from the current £4,750.

The joint letter is signed by the heads of Queen's University Belfast (QUB), Ulster University (UU) and the Open University in Ireland (OU).

It has been supported by a separate letter from the principals of St Mary's University College and Stranmillis University College.

The letter also pointed out that fees in Northern Ireland are lower than those in England and Wales, where students currently pay £9,250. This will go up to £9,535 in the next academic year.

However, students in the Republic of Ireland pay a maximum of €2,000 (£1,695) a year in fees, while Scottish students who remain in Scotland to study do not pay tuition fees.

In Northern Ireland tuition fees have risen from £3,685 a decade ago to £4,750 in 2024/25.

The vast majority of students take out a loan to cover their annual tuition fees and living costs, which they then pay back when they begin working after graduation.

He said he empathised with some of the universities' concerns about funding.

"They want and need to raise revenues and the only way they have to do that at the minute is off the back of students," he said.

"We can't keep throwing money at a broken system, we're wasting students money, we're wasting public money."

Mr Friel said that any rise in tuition fees could deter students from lower-income backgrounds, especially, from going to university.

He said that while the end of fees should be a "long-term" goal, he was a "realist".

"I know it's not going to happen in the next two, three, four years," he said.

"Long-term I think we should always be aiming for that."

The university letter has gone to the leaders of Sinn Féin, the DUP, UUP, SDLP and Alliance Party.

A tuition fee rise of the amount wanted by the universities would have to be approved by the Stormont Executive.

Higher education is the responsibility of Economy Minister Caoimhe Archibald.

The university letter has received support from a number of business leaders, who said "a tipping point" had been reached.

"We believe that it is time for the funding model to be refreshed, so that it continues to reflect Northern Ireland's distinctive needs, protects access for local students, and enhances the region's economic attractiveness to both domestic and global investment," their statement said.