Tuition fees communication 'a national scandal'

Consumer champion Martin Lewis has warned that "the communication of tuition fees by all parties over the last few years is a national scandal."

Speaking to the Daily Telegraph, the Money Saving Expert website guru and newly-appointed Independent Taskforce on Student Finance Information, continued, claiming that the debates have "left us as a nation ill-equipped and uneducated about how this crucial and very different form of finance works."

"We need to start a war on this ignorance. After all, if students don't understand the true cost, how can they decide if it's worth it?"

2000 adults were quizzed on their knowledge of the fees system changes, with a quarter incorrectly believing that the money had to be provided up front.

English universities will be able to charge up to £9000 a year – almost three times the current amount.

Graduates will pay back loans when they earn £21,000 and make smaller monthly repayments than at present. Debts will also take much longer to clear but will be written off after 30 years. Mr Lewis said he was “no fan of the changes” and that the myths surrounding the practical finances of the system “may well end up more damaging to prospective students’ aspirations than the new fees themselves”.