Leeds University to charge maximum fees

The University of Leeds plans to charge the full £9 000 in fees following in the foot-steps of Manchester, Essex, Surrey, Imperial College London, Oxford, Cambridge, Exeter and Durham universities.  When the government education minister set the limit of fees to £9 000 he planned that this would only be in "exceptional circumstances", which apparently means that most Universities are in exceptional circumstances.

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During the day Leeds Universities lectures are on strike but departments have put their proposed fees forward and it looks likely that Leeds will be charging the full £9 000.  Introducing a market system to education means that students from privileged backgrounds are not only more capable of getting the A* required but also in being able to cope with the fee increase from £3 375 to £9 000. The main factor that has put off many teenagers from going to University has been the cost, not necessarily during their time studying but the cost overall, and the fear that they would spend the rest of their lives paying it back. 

The ConDem government is looking to introduce market forces to education, the NHS and most other public services.  The idea is to increase efficiency or let local people run the services.  They do not see the power of education to offer people a new life and change their horizons but just look at the cost. Positions of power in the UK will be reserved, even more than now, for the upper classes who can pay the fees to obtain an education. Most people who can’t pay will drop out of education or remain in a pile of debt.  The problem is that capitalism can only cause efficiency in related to cost and has no place in education, health care or most other services.