内容摘要：Mr Attal, who had earlier suggested his minority government might stay in place “as long as necessary”, was far more vague on Friday night.

Mr Attal, who had earlier suggested his minority government might stay in place “as long as necessary”, was far more vague on Friday night.

Raising tuition fees would be unpopular, and there is a risk that if maintenance support doesn’t increase, students from the lowest income families could also be put off going to university.The need to find money upfront for rent, food, transport and heating is squeezing them too, as well as middle-income working families who are expected to contribute.

This question around maintenance has also been a big part of the conversations happening within government and with universities.“Maintenance is absolutely central,” says Vivienne Stern, chief executive of Universities UK which represents more than 140 institutions.“We’ve had a very long period where maintenance has failed to keep pace with inflation. You end up with a perverse effect that the students from the lowest income backgrounds end up having to take out the largest maintenance loans.”

But Kate Ogden from the independent Institute for Fiscal Studies points out that because loans are linked to earnings, any unpaid balance will be written off after 40 years.“If they don’t go on to earn very much, or in years when they don’t earn very much, they’re not required to make any loan repayments.”

At present, only 36% of students in England think their course is good or very good value for money, according to the largest study of student experience. This is the lowest across the UK.

A further rise in tuition fees would be controversial with students. It would also still be less than"We need to do better, to support students, education and jobs in the city".

Scottish Conservative education spokesman Miles Briggs MSP described the news as "an absolute hammer blow for staff"."Years of mismanagement at the university and brutal cuts from the SNP government are coming to home to roost and the consequences look set to be devastating," he said.

"SNP ministers are still asleep the wheel as this crisis only continues to escalate at the university and need to act now."Michael Marra, the Labour MSP for North East Scotland, said the job losses would be "devastating" for both the workers and the wider Dundee economy.