MPs wave through plans to increase tuition fees for two-year degrees Fees will rise to £11,100 a year for the accelerated courses

MPs have waved through controversial plans to allow universities to increase tuition fees to £11,100 a year on two-year degrees.

Students who choose to sit accelerated degrees, which last two years instead of three, will pay higher fees from this September.

Ministers have pushed the plans as they claim it will save students 20 per cent overall in tuition fees – around £5,500 – compared with traditional undergraduate courses.

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Breaks the mould

Universities minister Chris Skidmore said the move will “break the mould of a one-size-fits all higher education system”.

“For thousands of future students wanting a faster pace of learning and a faster route into the workplace at a lower overall cost, two-year degrees will transform their choices,” Mr Skidmore said.

But the decision to pass the legislation without a full vote in the House of Commons was criticised by Labour.

Shadow higher and further education minister Gordon Marsden said increasing tuition fees was “ absolutely the last thing that the government should be doing”.

Extremely disappointing

“It’s extremely disappointing the Government have pressed ahead with the increase despite the very serious questions about access for disadvantaged students, workload for university staff and guaranteeing the quality of university education,” he added.

Rather than raising fees, Matt Waddup, head of policy at the University and College Union, called on the Government to instead fix a system that “piled debts on students”.

He said: “Instead of gimmicks which risk undermining the international reputation of our higher education sector, the government should focus on fixing the underlying problems with our current finance system which piles huge debts on students. This decision is not about increasing real choice for students, it is about allowing for-profit companies access to public money through the student loans system.”