Students in Britain could face a graduate tax for decades after they leave university under proposals being discussed by ministers。
They believe the charge could be used instead of increasing tuition fees to save universities from cuts. But universities fear there is no guarantee that it would be spent on higher education。
With tuition fees, most students take out a loan of about 3,225 pounds a year at low interest rates and pay it back after they graduate. Universities want fees to rise to 5,000 pounds a year。
A graduate tax would see former students pay a percentage of their earnings。
But the Russell Group of top universities calculates that graduates in the upper 20 percent of earners could end up paying at least 16,000 pounds a year–far more than the cost of their education. It would mean that graduates would be, in effect, penalized for earning more - as they would be forced to pay a percentage of their earnings for many years after they leave college。
Tuition fees, on the other hand, amount to a flat rate charge usually paid in installments after a person graduates. The poorest pay nothing - but no one pays more than a certain amount。