The National Union of Students (NUS) lobbied Parliament in London last week to oppose the possible rise in tuition fees in England.

The lobby followed a report by Universities UK (UUK), which showed that vice-chancellors across England believe a near doubling of tuition fees is necessary to meet the rising costs of running a university.

NUS president Wes Streeting said: “In the context of the current recession it is extremely arrogant for university vice chancellors to be fantasising about charging their students even higher fees and plunging them into over £32,000 of debt.”

The UUK report presented figures that showed raising the tuition fees cap to £7,000 might deter students, but a rise to £5,000 would merely be “maintenance of the status quo.”

At the lobby the NUS presented a new publication that presents various alternatives to raising student fees, whilst still generating the extra income universities need.

“We will be talking to MPs about a number of radical proposals, including making higher education free at the point of use, with graduates making a contribution depending on how much they are benefiting financially from their own use of the system.

“We will also be calling for all financial support to be based around how much the student needs, not where they happen to be studying.”

Former education secretary David Blunkett joined the lobby and voiced his concerns about the proposals for lifting the cap on fees.

He said: “Whilst it’s clear that no government is going to pull the financial plug on the university sector by simply abolishing fees, it would at this time of global financial downturn be unacceptable to lift the cap and have a free-for-all across universities.”

Opponents of the increased fees have been further angered by a report earlier this week which showed that the average vice chancellor’s pay is over £190,000.

UUK defended the findings of the The Times Higher education survey, stating that the salaries are reflective of the workload.

Diana Warwick, Chief Executive, Universities UK, said: “The remuneration packages for Vice-Chancellors reflect what it takes to recruit and retain individuals able to run complex, multi-million pound organisations.”

The Universities and Colleges Union (UCU) expressed concern over the findings; general secretary Sally Hunt said: “When staff are being warned pay increases may lead to redundancies, it is quite incredible and rather distasteful that vice chancellors again have enjoyed such exorbitant pay rises.”

She added that the government and universities should not be surprised at the outrage of the public “when university leaders call for increased fees and greater student debt.”

Last week a BBC News survey showed that two-thirds of vice chancellors feel a rise in tuition fees is needed, suggesting levels between £4,000 and £20,000.

The results came from 53 vice chancellors, of whom two-thirds felt the rise in fees was needed to maintain university standards.