Following the largely unsurprising news that the Labour Party is likely to scrap its 2019 policy of abolishing tuition fees, now is the time for a maturing of the debate around higher education funding.
In today’s economic crisis, and with free education now off the table for Labour at least, it is vital that any new policy is fiscally viable, understandable and most importantly fair for both students and the sector.
The fundamental principle of any fair and progressive taxation system is that those who earn the most, pay the most in tax. Surely, therefore, it is logical that a priority for any equitable HE funding system is to ensure those who financially benefit the most from their education, should pay the highest returns. Put another way, students who earn the most once they graduate should be taxed the most on the financial benefits they individually receive.
Rather than simply paying back the cost of their own higher education, a fairer system would see the highest earners continue to contribute through a progressive graduate tax above and beyond the cost of educating them. This is in stark contrast to the regressive “plan 5” system which from September will see some of our poorest graduates pay back thousands more for up to 40 years of their life, while the very richest can effectively game the system by paying their fees upfront.
