正文

英国欲征"毕业税"代替大学学费

2010-07-19来源:和谐英语

Business Secretary Vince Cable is to propose a graduate tax linked to post-university earnings, replacing the current system of tuition fees, as part of major reforms to higher education.

Under the plans the government would pay tuition fees directly to universities, instead of lending to students.

Graduates would repay the cost of their degree once they start working, with higher earners paying more.

"We want to investigate an option which is clearly fairer and related to people's ability to pay," Dr Cable told the BBC's Today Programme, ahead of a speech at London's South Bank University.

Two-year degrees and more flexible, part-time courses are also expected to be suggested in the plans, as a means of cutting the cost of higher education.

The proposals will be investigated by Lord Browne in a sweeping review of higher education, to be published in the autumn.

The Higher Education Funding Council for England (Hefce) -- which was ordered by the government to slash its budget -- has written to universities confirming cuts of £200 million for this year, including £82 million from teaching grants.

The Universities and College Union (UCU), which represents lecturers, warned the government against "increasing the financial burden on the individual".

UCU general secretary, Sally Hunt, said: "If the government thinks it can get the public to swallow higher fees as some sort of graduate tax it is living in a dream world.

Tuition fees were introduced by the Labour government and first paid by students in 1998. Overall, students pay up to £3,225 a year, which must be paid back when graduates start earning more than £15,000 a year.

英国商务大臣文思．凯博日前提议按照英国大学生毕业后的收入水平对他们征收“毕业税”，以代替目前的大学学费。这将是高等教育主要改革的措施之一。

按照该计划，学生无需再向政府贷款缴纳学费，而是由政府直接向大学划拨学费。

学生毕业后一旦找到工作就要开始偿还学费，收入越高，偿还的金额越多。

凯博博士在伦敦南岸大学发表演讲前接受英国广播公司《今日》节目采访时说：“我们希望引入一个更加公平、结合人们实际偿还能力的方案，并对其进行调研。”

此外，作为削减高等教育成本的举措之一，该计划向大学生“推销”两年制的大学课程和更加灵活的业余课程。

主持英国高等教育全面评估工作的布朗勋爵将对该提案进行调研，评估报告将于今年秋天公布。

应政府削减预算的要求，英格兰高等教育基金管理委员会致信各高校通知本年度将削减2亿英镑的预算开支，其中包括8200万英镑的教学津贴。

代表大学老师的英国高校联盟告诫政府“不要试图增加民众的经济负担”。

高校联盟的秘书长萨莉．亨特说：“如果政府认为可以通过什么毕业税来将高额学费转嫁至民众身上，那简直是在做梦。”

英国自1998年工党执政期间开始实行大学收费制。目前英国大学生每年需缴纳3225英镑的学费，学生毕业后年收入超过1.5万英镑时开始偿还这笔贷款。

Vocabulary:

graduate tax:毕业税