OXFORD colleges will be prevented by law from charging students higher fees to make up for falling Government grants.

The Higher Education Bill, now before Parliament, would allow the Government to get back from universities any money raised through charging students fees. But there is no mention of claiming money back from individual colleges. The Government has now decided to close the loophole and include colleges within the Bill.

It was feared that universities could be held responsible for college decisions, over which they have no control.

An amendment will be added to the Bill when it is debated in the House of Commons after Easter.

Last month the Education Secretary David Blunkett announced that tuition fees currently paid directly to colleges would now go through the universities before being gradually reduced.

It has been suggested the colleges will eventually lose £12m of their £35m grant.

Several college heads at Oxford and Cambridge have said that the one-to-one tutorial system at the two universities can be saved only if students pay additional fees.

Geoffrey Marshall, Provost of The Queen's College, Oxford, said: "If they value their freedom, the colleges and their universities should categorically reject the minister's scheme."

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