16 May 2003
The Conservatives have started a row after pledging to scrap university tuition fees if they are returned to power, which they believe will save £700m.
The National Union of Students and the Association of Teachers and Lecturers welcomed the pledge – although not if it meant a cut in the number of university places available.
But universities were quick to denounce the proposal. 'The Conservatives propose to deprive universities of a much-needed source of funding to relieve middle-class students from paying fees,' said a spokesman for the vice-chancellors' representative body, Universities UK.
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