A survey commissioned by the Committee of Vice-Chancellors and Principals has estimated that £15m in tuition fees is owed by students, based on information from 60 universities.

This would mean that 15,000 students have still failed to pay the £1,000 per year fees from last year, as the collection process for next year's fees is set to begin again this autumn.

The 'new' universities are said to be facing particular problems with non-payment, with one unidentified former polytechnic believed to be owed £1m - representing a thousand students failing to pay their fees.

The CVCP, which estimates universities have collected £135m in tuition fees, says that if debt continues to rise to £20m, they would need to have extra funds from the government to make up the shortfall.

Anti-fees protests

The National Union of Students, which has campaigned against the fees, said that this illustrated the difficulties that students faced in paying the charge.

Earlier this year, a number of universities were occupied by students protesting against the threat of expulsion for non-payers and anti-fees campaigners are promising to step up protests in the new term.

The government has consistently rejected the claim that the charges would deter university applications from young people from poorer families.

People from deprived families do not have to pay the fees, says the government, and the admissions statistics have shown no decline in applications from low-income families.