STUDENTS could be charged up to £9,000 a year in tuition fees under new Government plans. At present the cap is £3,290 a year, but ministers could allow that to be trebled in ‘exceptional circumstances’. Experts believe this opens the door for England’s top universities to charge the maximum amount. We spoke to East Lancashire students, university leaders and MPs to find out what the impact could be.

A 17-YEAR-old from a single parent family said her ‘dreams were shattered’ by the proposed increase in tuition fees.

Maria Hussain, 17, who lives in Johnson Street, Blackburn, with her mum Nusrat, three sisters and one brother, works part-time as a shop assistant in BHS.

She is studying for A-levels in law, ICT, politics and religious studies at Blackburn College and was hoping for a place at Leeds University to study Arabic, law and Islamic studies.

She said: “I come from a family with one parent and things are tough as it is so paying thousands of pounds for university is not an option.

"I will be cut off completely from higher education if this rise goes ahead.

“They need to understand that not everyone is rich and people from poor families also have a right to education."

Aspiring physicist Lorna Temple, 18, who lives with her mum Michelle in Mill Hill, is hoping to secure a place at Oxford University.

She is worried about the impact of the fee rise on future generations, including her younger siblings.

Lorna, who is studying for A-levels in physics, maths and Spanish at Blackburn College, said: “It is already difficult for my mum who is a single parent on benefits and it will get worse for her children because they will have to get into huge debt to get an education.

“People will not be able to enter into a career to better themselves and get on in life because they have been restricted by the amount of money that have to pay to go to university.”

Daniel Jose, who lives with parents Vicky and Shane in Green Lane, Blackburn, is studying for A-levels in history, politics, English language and literature and psychology.

The 17-year-old, is hoping to attend Manchester University to study history.

He said: “It is not right to make everyone pay more as it will make it really difficult for those who come from poor backgrounds.

“I am going to have to get a huge loan and will have to work the whole way through university which will cause me additional stress on top of my studies.

“It just seems really unfair that this is being brought in by people who had free education.”

The Vice-Chancellor of the University of Central Lancashire has slammed the fees proposals.

Malcolm McVicar, of the university which runs courses from its Burnley campus, said: “The review is fundamentally flawed.

“Raising the cap to £9,000 will dramatically increase student debt to around a minimum of £40,000.

“When graduate unemployment is at a 17-year high, debt levels of this magnitude will deter people from ordinary backgrounds going into higher education and will make HE the preserve of the affluent.

“Other countries around the world recognise the importance of higher education, and the role it plays in driving economic growth, and are investing.

“At a time when our economic rivals are investing in universities, the coalition has decided to end state funding for the majority of students. These cuts in higher education are disproportionate and will inflict long-term damage.”

Yanina Williams, vice-principal for quality and development at Blackburn College. said they would not change the fee level for current students until they have completed their current qualification.

Coalition MPs, whose parties are behind the tuition fees hike, defended the move.

Gordon Birtwistle, Liberal Democrat MP for Burnley, claimed the government had been forced to raise the fees to plug national debt.

He said: “Intellectually I do not believe that there should be an increase in fees but the country has no alternative as it’s bankrupt.

"Gordon Brown left us in this mess and now we have to look how to sort it out.

“There is one other alternative which is not to raise the fees at all but that will mean the closure of half the universities in the country.”

Conservative Pendle MP Andrew Stephenson said: “To put our universities on a long-term stable footing we have to look at how we support students.

“It is perfectly fair and reasonable that people who go into higher education should have to pay for it.”