A university boss has welcomed the rise in tuition fees coming next year but said the “modest” rise does not provide an adequate solution.

University of Sussex vice chancellor Professor Sasha Roseneil praised the government’s announcement that tuition fees would be unfrozen and would rise by £285 in 2025 – the first such rise in over eight years.

But, after students' unions called the policy a “sticking plaster”, the vice chancellor added that more needed to be done to help solve universities’ financial problems.

Professor Roseneil said: “The government’s recognition today of the financial challenges facing both students and universities is very welcome.

“The small increases announced by the secretary of state in student maintenance loans and tuition fees begin to address their erosion by inflation over nearly a decade, but unfortunately neither students nor universities will find adequate solutions in these modest uplifts.

“The new government has rightly recognised that universities are vital engines of innovation and growth and are key to tackling all five of the missions that are at the heart of its agenda.

“We at Sussex are focusing our efforts on addressing the problems that really matter in the world, and on delivering the highest quality education to students from the widest possible range of backgrounds.”

Education Secretary Bridgit Phillipson announced that tuition fees would rise from 2025 to £9,535.

The fees have been frozen since 2017.

Ms Phillipson also announced that maintenance loans for students would rise in line with tuition fees.

But Prime Minister Keir Starmer had previously pledged to scrap tuition fees altogether when he ran for Labour leader in 2020.

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The National Union of Students (NUS) called the rise a “sticking plaster” for problems as universities continue to battle financial problems brought on by the cost-of-living crisis and rises in inflation.

Earlier this year, the University and College Union (UCU) warned that universities faced “catastrophe” if they were not given an emergency rescue package.

Following the announcement on Monday, Jo Grady, general secretary of the UCU, said the hike to tuition fees was “both economically and morally wrong”.

Professor Roseneil called for an “independent, expert-informed comprehensive review” of university funding and student support in a bid to tackle the problems in the long term.