SU Celebrate Victory Against Tuition Fee Rise

By The Gown

While February’s news of a 20% rise in maintenance loans in Northern Ireland certainly seemed good news for students, the Vice-Chancellors of Queen’s, Ulster and Open wrote weeks ago to Stormont’s political parties to raise undergraduate tuition fees; from £4,750 to £5,831 per year – an increase of around 18%.

The letter opined that, to prevent the trend of students leaving NI to study elsewhere (approx. a third of undergraduates), more funding is needed, and referred to “real-terms loss caused by a legacy of sub-inflationary uplifts” in the past. The effects of that trend, the letter states, are “compounded by the reduction in international student numbers and associated income”. [2]

However, it was announced last week [3] that these changes would not go ahead. Caoimhe Archibald, the Economy Minister since February, ruled the rise out, stating that tuition fees should not rise “beyond the annual inflationary adjustment”.

Citing a longer-term solution, Archibald – the head of the DfE responsible for tuition fees – stated;

“There are two ways to provide that additional funding – either by increasing student fees above the usual level of inflation or by finding more public funding…

“I am clear that the current funding model does not work for universities and it does not work for students… I am not prepared to raise fees above the usual level of inflation and push that additional pressure onto students.”

In an email sent to QUB students, SU president Kieran Minto described the success of the SU:

“We completely reject the idea that increasing tuition fees – and shifting the financial burden onto students – is a legitimate fix for the funding crisis in our sector. Investing in higher education is investing in our future – it needs proper government funding. We’ve seen where this path leads. Students in England have been left with huge debts – and over a decade later, their universities are in crisis with job losses and cuts. That cannot be Northern Ireland’s future. 

“We need a model that allows students, wherever they are from in the world, to flourish whilst at university rather than be constantly worried about being able to afford to live and graduating with serious debt.”

and called for…

“…a proper, grown-up conversation about how we fund higher education in Northern Ireland. One that moves beyond short-term fixes and genuinely puts students first. We’re ready to be part of that discussion – and we’ll keep making sure your voice is at the centre of it.”

The NUS-USI likewise celebrated the decision as an “incredible win”, citing it due to the effectiveness of “a pressure campaign from the student movement”. [4]

References

[1] Jack, P., “Northern Irish universities issue plea for ‘urgent’ fee increase”. Times Higher Education, 8 May 2025. https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/northern-irish-universities-issue-plea-urgent-fee-increase

[2] Meredith, R., “‘Increasing tuition fees will put people off university'”. BBC News, 9 May 2025. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c3rpdw0e98vo

[3] Young, D., “Minister rules out significant increase in student fees in NI”. The Irish News, 20 May 2025. https://www.irishnews.com/news/northern-ireland/minister-rules-out-significant-increase-in-student-fees-in-ni-TTGGSTESBFADBG4OFOAVG2BQHA/

[4] NUS, “Tuition fees will NOT increase for NI students!” Instagram, 20 May 2025. https://www.instagram.com/p/DJ4cMRcoNzg/?hl=en-gb&img_index=2