Graduates want fairer university funding

The UK government are proposing a graduate tax for students in the future.

Currently, students are lent money from the government to cover fees and they pay back the money once they are earning over £15,000 (130,000 yuan) a year.

The new scheme would see students repaying their tuition fees when they are working, through a graduate tax.

This proposal would see higher-earning graduates paying more and is said to be a fairer system.

At the moment there is an ongoing review into university fees and students are bracing themselves for the outcome.

Some have predicted that tuition fees could double, causing more and more students to worry about their personal student debt.

The union representing lecturers, the UCU, is worried that the graduate tax scheme would just be a "rebrand" for student debt and not change the current situation.

So what do students make of the graduate tax? Well the National Union of Students says they are pleased and see the proposal of a graduate tax as a milestone in a campaign to ensure fairer university funding.

The NUS want to make sure that graduate contributions are determined on actual earnings.

The government still have to look into how feasible the new scheme would be but they have stated that there needs to be a "radical re-think" on how the higher education system is funded.

They have called for other measures to cut the cost of university, such as two-year degrees, more part-time and flexible courses and more students living in their family home.

The announcement comes at the same time as thousands of people are set to miss out on a UK university place. This is due to a record increase in the amount of people applying to go into further education.

Glossary 词汇表
graduate tax 毕业税
lent 贷（款）
tuition fees 学费
proposal 提议
higher-earning 高收入
fairer system 更公平的体制
ongoing 持续的
bracing themselves 做准备
predicted 预言
debt 债务
representing 代表
rebrand 新名称
milestone 里程碑
to ensure 确保
contributions 贡献
determined 由…决定
feasible 可行的
radical re-think 彻底的重新思考
measures 措施，方法
announcement 公告