Cruel Intentions.

It was revealed last week that more universities had thrown their hats into the ring of nine hundred tenners and stated their intention to charge forthcoming students the maximum tuition fee available to them.

There are now 24 universities that have stated their intentions in terms of fees. Possibly most significant of all of last week’s announcements was the one made by Manchester University.

Yes, the pompous older sibling of the three Manchester universities became the first Northern institution to state their intent to charge the maximum tuition fee of £9,000 a year. Incredibly bad news for the North West.

Unfortunately, Manchester’s announcement seemed to be the one that broke the dam separating the North of England from the South, as soon after, more Northern universities revealed their intent to charge full whack, or at least very close to it. Liverpool, Liverpool John Moores, Loughborough, Birmingham, Aston, Coventry, Leeds and Leeds Metropolitan.

According to the government when this legislation was brought in, the maximum charge of nine grand could only be done in “exceptional circumstances” yet it appears that day by day, week by week, we’re seeing more and more universities state their intent to charge it.

Of course as Nick Clegg and the Liberal Democrats keep telling us is that these university intentions are just that, intentions. They need to be approved by the government before they can do so. I don’t really see how the government can have a say, these universities are all individual institutions, independent from the countries’ state schooling system. If the legislation says they can charge £9,000 then they have the right to do so. The money the universities will lose from the cuts to their supplements needs to be made up somewhere, and unfortunately the students will have to carry that burden.

Notice though, that none of the Scottish universities are intending on charging £9,000, that’s because they’re still giving out their education for free. Some would argue that that is the right thing to do, with the North-South divide in this country, Scottish students need this subsidiary in order to get on in the world.

However, it is grossly unfair on the North of England. The North-South divide is about more than just Scotland and England. The further North you travel from London, the poorer it gets. Birmingham is worse off than London, Glasgow is worse off than Birmingham. Yet Northern students still have to pay the same amount that Southerners pay. It’s just not fair.

Manchester University’s decision to charge the maximum fee leaves students based around Manchester with one less option to choose from. That’s if Manchester Metropolitan and Salford choose not to follow their pretentious neighbour. Only Liverpool Hope is a viable option for many Liverpool based students with both Liverpool University and Liverpool John Moores charging the maximum. The Midlands are set to struggle too with the loss of Aston and Birmingham University.

It’s probably even worse for Yorkshire. Both of Leeds’ universities, Leeds and Leeds Metropolitan, have announced their intent (Leeds £9,000; Leeds Met £8,500). That news is absolutely devastating for Yorkshire based families who are struggling as it is. Should the likes of Salford, Manchester Metropolitan, Sheffield or Sheffield Hallam succumb to charging £9,000 a year then the North of England might as well give up.

The changes to the student fee system are painful for everyone, whether you be from the North or the South of England. But the change is a heck of a lot more painful if you’re Northern as you are simply not as well off as people in the South of the country. £9,000 is more money to a Northerner than it is to a Southerner. There is currently a huge emphasis on London, all the jobs and opportunities lurk there and many Northerners have to stretch their cash even further to fund moving down there to take up such opportunities, and that’s after clawing their way through university!

A lot needs to be done to eliminate this North-South divide of ours. At the moment it seems that it’s getting bigger and bigger by the day. I’m not saying Scotland should be paying £9,000 a year as well as everyone else, that would be ludicrous. But they should perhaps now be spending £3,000 a year. Maybe the system would be better if it were £3,000 for Scotland, £6,000 for the North of England (including the midlands), and £9,000 for the London universities. I’m just trying to think of a fair option, one that doesn’t leave the North of England in the lurch.

Obviously I’d like to see a world where nobody pays for education at all but that, quite frankly, is not going to happen. However, we cannot drive the North of England further away from the standard of living in the South by forcing them to pay more then what they actually have and adding to their debt. The government keeps on saying that we are spending way above our means and it needs to stop. Why then are they forcing Northerners to do just that?

There is a North-South divide in this country, and that line does not run alongside Hadrian’s Wall.