Universities and Students to help the tax payer

"Until the deficit is brought under control, argues Mark Corney, there can be no rise in funding for universities. The taxpayer should contribute less and graduates should pay more". This is the opening line of today's news item by the guardian which suggests that the £200m cut in higher education spending during this financial year by the new government demonstrates that higher education is not immune from the fiscal crisis. So far, tuition funding does appear to have been spared. Nonetheless, David Willetts, the higher education minister, hinted last week that tuition fees would have to rise, as he warned that the cost of students' degree courses was a "burden on the taxpayer" and that the way students pay for universities needed to be thought about "more creatively".

It is an interesting take on a way forward for financial cuts. But is it sustainable or practical, targetting a group of individuals who are often already financially challenged at this point of their lives anyway? Can students really help the taxpayer?