Student fees hike 'will force thousands to quit'

Thousands of students will be forced to drop out of college and emigrate if registration fees soared to €2,000 as proposed in the four-year rescue plan, it was claimed tonight.

The Union of Students in Ireland (USI) criticised the Government’s hypocrisy in claiming to invest in education while hitting them with a double whammy, which included a crippling cuts to the grant.