Published Wednesday, 16 March 2011
A public consultation on higher education tuition fees and student finance arrangements began on Tuesday.
DEL minister Danny Kennedy said he would not support any introduction of upfront fees or the fee levels of between £6,000 and £9,000 introduced in England.
He called for Assembly parties to debate the issue and find a 'made in Northern Ireland' model for university funding here.
However UU Vice Chancellor Professor Richard Barnett has accused Mr Kennedy of leaving it for his successor to find a "definitive" plan.
"All that the minister said is that it is for the next minister, the next Executive and the next Assembly to decide," Prof Barnett said.
"It is disappointing that he has not come forward with a definitive proposal which, no matter what it was, given the difficult budgetary situation many of us would have understood the reason for making such a decision."
Mr Kennedy said he has been handed five options, which range from the abolition of fees to charging students up to £9,000 per year, matching levels in England.
The consultation document also includes the preferred plan to raise fees, currently capped at £3,290, to between £5,000 and £5,750, while also making grant aid available to greater numbers of students.
"It is because I am committed to the principle that access to university should be on the basis of ability to learn, not ability to pay, that I believe we in NI should have a generous student support package, combining maintenance grants and loans and the repayment arrangements," Mr Kennedy said.
"Students do not need to pay upfront to participate in Higher Education and I intend to ensure that this continues. Payment can be deferred through a tuition fee loan, which is only repayable after they leave higher education, and are earning above a certain income."
Professor Barnett said it is "vital" a decision is made by the summer, so that students for the next academic year are not denied access to loans.
"In his statement on fees the minister has addressed only half of the fundamental issue facing his department," he said. "Given the increase in fees in England, it is widely understood that there will be an increase in demand for places in Northern Ireland as students seek to study closer to home.
"Yet Northern Ireland already has the smallest higher education sector of any UK region, with a cap limiting the number of full-time students.
"The next Executive owes these young people and their parents - who are already trying to make a decision about their choice of university - a speedy resolution."
The public consultation period runs until 10 June 2011.