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David Greenaway suggests that increased fee contributions of ?5,000 a year are appropriate even for low-income families because of the alleged graduate lifetime earnings premium of ?400,000 (Letters, THES , November 22).

He omits to point out that this premium generates some ?125,000 in extra tax revenues, that is, eight times the cost of higher fees. But if the estimated higher education funding shortfall of ?3 billion requires additional revenue from graduates, there is a very simple solution that dispenses with the need for higher upfront fees. Levy a hypothecated surcharge of 2 per cent, shared between employee and employer, on the lifetime earnings of all graduates, past, present and future - including Tony Blair, David Greenaway and myself.

That way those who benefit the most financially from a degree will distribute the most, and the ?3 billion a year required could be raised immediately (5 million existing graduates earning an average of ?30,000 a year levied at 2 per cent).

Steve Giles
Nottingham