Students across England are facing the daunting prospect of repaying tuition fees of more than £9,000 for BA degrees. In Scotland tuition fees were scrapped when the Liberal Democrats shared power.

Education should be free. Given that more people than ever are leaving education after secondary school, free university education would encourage more people to make an effort to go on to higher education. However, the extent of the fees themselves are only one issue relating to the problem of student finance.

In the past few years students have been among those who have committed suicide as a result of their debts and the behaviour of banks. Now more than ever, young people are facing a catch-22 situation: either leave education early and face difficulty in getting work, or attempt university education and start working life more than £9,000 in debt - hardly a good way to begin.

The Liberal Democrats propose abolishing tuition fees for university.

Not only will this increase the number of young people going into higher education, but it will also reduce problems related to financial strain. I am a first-year university student so I will never enjoy abolished tuition fees but I know fees can only cause problems in the long run.