18th December 2002

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‘Higher Education is a right, not a privilege’

Charging students ‘top-up fees’ for access to university degree courses is ‘inherently discriminatory,’ according to the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ulster, Professor Gerry McKenna.

Speaking to students at Limavady College of Further and Higher Education college, the Vice-Chancellor decisively rejected ‘top-up fees’ as a solution to the funding shortfall, saying they would discriminate against students from poorer backgrounds.

“Higher education is a right and not a privilege; we cannot build a fair society upon a two-tier system of higher education,” Professor McKenna said.

Dismissing ‘top-up fees’ as socially divisive, the Vice-Chancellor proposed introduction of a graduate tax, which, he argued, would be more socially equitable, would both encourage and finance expansion - and would revitalise the United Kingdom’s higher education system.

Professor McKenna called on government to ensure that money gathered from this tax would be earmarked for higher education spending alone.

“I favour a form of graduate taxation, for a number of reasons. The first is that it removes the spectre of debt. Secondly, the deduction is related to earnings but should be made at a level that does not diminish the incentive to acquire a university qualification.

“It also has the virtue of simplicity, would raise large sums of money - and has the ability to make education free from the point of access.”

The Vice-Chancellor added that a graduate tax addresses problems such as the unfair burden being placed on middle-income families, and removes the parental link to tuition fees and maintenance which itself contributes to inequality of opportunity and access.

For further information, please contact:

Press Office Department of Communication and Development
Telephone: 028 9036 6178
Email: pressoffice@ulster.ac.uk