Wes Streeting, who is now chief executive of education charity the Helena Kennedy Foundation, called for the switch when he delivered the Association of Law Teachers¡¯ annual Lord Upjohn Lecture, in which he argued that plans to lower fees by introducing waivers failed to address problems faced by students from lower-income families.

Instead, financial support should go directly into students¡¯ pockets to help them complete their degrees, he said.

¡°I can understand why the Treasury might want universities to offer fee waivers instead of bursaries, but from a consumer finance point of view it makes no sense whatsoever,¡± Mr Streeting told an audience of academics in London on 11 November.

¡°The sticker price of the course will often bear no relation to the amount that a student will pay because of the income contingent repayment system and debt write off period after 30 years.

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¡°It is shameful that universities have been pressured by the government ¨C through the Office For Fair Access ¨C to cut back on financial support in favour of fee waivers.

¡°The sector should abandon fee waivers altogether and give students the support they need, when they need it: up front and for those who need it most.¡±

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Mr Streeting, who is a member of the Independent Taskforce on Student Finance Information, also condemned the government¡¯s decision to axe AimHigher, a national student outreach service targeting teenagers from deprived backgrounds, and to scrap the ?30-a-week Education Maintenance Allowance for sixth-form students.

More information and guidance about student finance was also required, he added.

¡°What the government is attempting is nothing less than the largest big bang reform of tuition fees and student finance ever attempted by any government, anywhere, ever.

¡°There is a real risk that students could be deterred by myths and misconceptions about the new arrangements.¡±

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jack.grove@tsleducation.com