University Tuition Fees Will Increase Every Year Until 2020

University tuition fees will increase every year until 2020

Parliament rushed through the Higher Education and Research Bill which will increase tuition fees in Universities in England every year, regardless of teaching quality, until the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) is introduced in 2020. Universities UK president Dame Julia Goodfellow was positive about the passing of the bill, saying it offers “stability at a time of great uncertainty”. The legislation received a large number of amendments in the House of Lords. Amendments to the bill mean that the newly-created Office for Students will now have to “request advice” before granting degree-awarding abilities. The government also made compromises on the ability of new institutions to provide degrees and gain university status. 

Students contributed AU$4 billion in net savings in Australia

A new analysis published by Universities Australia shows that students and their institutions have contributed nearly AU$4 billion in net savings in government spending between 2011 and 2017 – all as a result of cuts to programmes or changes to the way federal money is allocated. The Chief Executive of Universities Australia, Belinda Robinson, said that “beyond the impact on Australian students and research, further cuts would put in jeopardy our success as a powerhouse provider of international education, which contributes AU$22.4 billion dollars a year to the Australian economy and is our third largest export.”

“For students already under financial pressure, an increase in their debt burden would further exacerbate their financial stress (while) further cuts to universities would compromise their ability to skill and re-skill millions of Australians through their working lives and to deliver the world-leading research we need to create new industries and achieve breakthroughs that improve lives and contribute to our economic strength.”

Japanese princess will be studying at Leeds University

The 22-year-old princess Kako, a granddaughter of Emperor Akihito, will study at the University of Leeds, one of the largest higher education institutions in Britain, from this September to June next year as an exchange student. Though she has not decided yet what she will study, Princess Kako has shown interest in psychology and art.

South African government aims to double research and development spending by 2020

The precentage of gross domestic product that will be spend on research and development will be increased to 1.5%. The latest figure was 0.77% so this represents a major step forward. When we take a look at the total money invested in this area, in 2013-14 the amount was US$1.9 billion, and in 2014-15 the amount was US$2.2 billion. The results show that science councils and higher education institutions managed to add around 100 new technologies per year between 2011 and 2014.

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