The issue that I wish to raise today is the outrageous cost of the university tuition fees. University students are currently made to pay £9.25k for tuition fees. This is simply unacceptable, especially considering the circumstances of this academic year, which produced many guidelines against students attending their university. Universities need to empathise with students and decrease their tuition fees as it is immoral and unfair to make students pay the full £9.25k.

Ever since the ongoing pandemic, many students haven't attended university as most lectures are now online. Therefore, my question is, what are students paying the price of £9.25k for?. We are learning from our homes, using our resources. For this academic year, first-year students weren't even able to get the typical university experience of freshers week, joining societies and even socialising with peers. Some students haven't even been inside the university due to guidelines restricting them from attending. Therefore, why are students still paying the full £9.25k? Furthermore, most of these students are reliant on the student loan company and not only would they pay the current ridiculous fees but also the interest accumulated for the loan. 

In the event of this new lockdown, more guidelines have been put in place, affecting university students even further. I urge you to consider decreasing the tuition fees for students as the current tuition fees are outrageous and demotivating for many students. Therefore, I am addressing this statement to the Department of Education and our MP, Michelle Donelan.