TWO Manx students who studied at the University of Cambridge have voiced their disappointment the Department of Education and Children may no longer foot the bill.
Earlier this month, the Manx Independent reported the DEC has said it ‘doesn’t expect, at present’ to be able to pay an additional ‘college fee’ for Manx students on top of tuition and accommodation fees for 2013/14.
In addition, islands students at Cambridge – those from the Channel Islands and Isle of Man – will be charged tuition fees at the overseas rate in 2013-14.
Andrew Duncan, aged 25, finished an undergraduate degree at Cambridge in 2010. He is moving to Liverpool in September to teach English.
He said: ‘I think it’s a huge disappointment that college fees will now have to be covered by Manx students. Students who have the chance to get into Oxbridge and study there shouldn’t be prevented on the basis of cost.
‘These two universities are among the best in the world, rivalling Harvard and Yale. We are lucky to have them in the British Isles and no-one in the British Isles should be deterred by £5-6,000 fees.
‘Oxford and Cambridge shouldn’t be the preserve of the more wealthy, and shouldn’t exclude students from outside England.’
Meanwhile, Charlie Barrow, aged 22, a former Castle Rushen High School student from Ballabeg, studied at Cambridge at undergraduate level and will be starting a PhD there in October.
He said the impact would be ‘incredible’ saying a ‘considerable number of the island’s best students will surely be deterred from applying to Oxbridge due to an inability to foot the increased cost’.
‘Already, the fees faced by Manx students are considerably higher than for students living in the UK and the EU, and support from the department is vital if students on the island are to flourish and reach their full potential.’
He said ‘Oxbridge provides a unique educational experience.
‘A degree from either institution makes a student stand out’.
‘If Manx students are unable to attend these universities, the impact on their job prospects and by extension the potential benefit and return to the Manx economy will surely be apparent.’
Mr Barrow said Oxbridge stood out from other institutions for the level of academic support provided as well as the frequency of one-on-one interaction with professors—through the supervision system at Cambridge and the tutorial system at Oxford.
He said they also had a considerable amount of additional resources available to students.
The college fee, applicable to students outside the UK and EU, is £4,500-£5,500 per year at Cambridge and about £6,200 per year at Oxford.
In the past, the DEC paid it on a discretionary basis.
At present, tuition fees at Cambridge start at £13,011 per year for courses such as English, history and law.
The DEC will pay tuition fees up to £9,000 a year for three-year degrees – and above that for courses in clinical medicine, dentistry, veterinary science and conservatoire music.
• The DEC has confirmed it will pay college fees for students starting courses in September 2012 despite its online guidelines stating otherwise.
A DEC spokesman said it was because of the ‘small number of students who had already irrevocably committed via UCAS to Oxbridge universities prior to the 2012/13 awards being agreed by Tynwald’. It is understood about six students fall into this bracket so far.