Tot-up fees take toll on applications

From the archive, first published Tuesday 14th Feb 2006.

COULD it be that university tuition fees are persuading students not to apply to go

to university?

The Government expected the number of applications to fall this year but the decrease is even more than expected. Figures due to be published by the university admissions service Ucas, show a four per cent drop.

Last year showed an eight per cent rise as prospective students raced to beat the introduction of top-up fees of up to £3,000 a year.

A spokeswoman for the Department for Education and Skills said the Government was still on course to meet its target of 50 per cent of youngsters in higher education by 2010. But in Scotland and Wales, where fees are unlikely to be so high, universities are not reporting a fall in applications.

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