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Yet many parents find that by investing a moderate sum now they can offset the costs

Yet many parents find that by investing a moderate sum now, they can offset the costs. Several companies offer specially tailored investment products aimed at saving for education. By 2005, this would increase the debt burden by pounds 2,400 a year. Add to this the projected student debt burden and the cost of a university education after 2005 comes to pounds 16,000 between parent and child. If there is no entitlement to a grant, the total will be over pounds 21,000.Anne Feek, managing director of the School Fees Insurance Agency, says: “As it is, parents are reluctant for their children to start life with a debt. If tuition fees are introduced what option is there for parents who want the best for their offspring other than to fund their education themselves?”It still seems an impossible amount to find. Add on the loan and even cautious students will face a debt burden of pounds 9,000 when they graduate.

For those not eligible for a grant the total cost will be closer to pounds 14,000.The Committee of Vice-Chancellors and Principals, the body for university heads, is pressing for an “all-loan system” that will make students pay at least a third of tuition fees as well as living expenses. The maximum loan of pounds 1,685 a year would give a total annual income (outside London) of just pounds 3,395.How does that compare with outgoings? Estimates from the National Union of Students suggest a student outside London can expect the minimum bill over the year of at least pounds 4,500 – over pounds 1,100 more than their income after outgoings are taken into account.Even if inflation stays below 6 per cent, a student living this meagre lifestyle for three years will fall short by almost pounds 4,000. The first question is: how much will they need? Grants, frozen for the last 10 years, have fallen 36 per cent against inflation. In the year 1997 to 1998, they will be worth just pounds 1,710 – or pounds 2,105 in London. Students are taking up loans on preferential terms from the Glasgow- based Student Loans Company, making life slightly easier – but not much. During the election, all the three main political parties claimed that education was a top priority for them.

Labour said it would divert more funds into schools, mostly by re-allocating money previously spent elsewhere.
But David Blunkett, Labour’s new Education Minister, is unlikely to find the significant new resources needed to offset the crisis facing higher education.Under Labour, as with the Tories before them, university students – and their parents – look set to become poorer.The need for parents to salt money away to help pay for higher education is higher than ever. Parents whose children are taking A-levels in the coming weeks may find their hopes of good exam results are tempered by the knowledge that academic success means financial headaches for several years, as their offspring prepare for college life. It may seem unfair, but don’t forget that few people entertain the taxman.John Whiting is a tax partner at Price Waterhouse. For example, many travel writers would not see a benefit in a trip that is undertaken to write about a particular destination.