UK universities will be able to charge students fees of up to £6,000 a year, and in some “exceptional” cases up to £9,000, the government announced today.

The move is a key part of the government’s plan to overhaul university funding, which it says is currently “unsustainable and in need of reform”. It comes after John Browne, former chief executive of BP, recommended last month that the existing £3,290 cap on student fees be lifted (see The Great Beyond blog).

The aim of increasing student fees is to generate more income for universities and give them greater freedom to manage their coffers, reducing their reliance on government funding. They will also likely offset cuts to the teaching funds awarded to universities from the public purse, after the government announced a £2.9 billion cut to the higher education budget (bringing it to £4.2 billion by 2014-15) in the Comprehensive Spending Review in October.

But the government has said teaching for science and engineering subjects will be protected from cuts. In a press briefing today, David Willetts, minister for universities and science, told reporters that universities would be able to charge different fees for different subjects.

Some have warned that if universities charge higher fees for lab-based subjects, which are more expensive to teach, students from poorer backgrounds may be deterred from studying science.

“Lab-based subjects, such as science and engineering degrees, cost far more to teach than some other subjects. We’re concerned that if these costs are passed on in the form of relatively higher fees to students, applicants from poorer backgrounds may be pushed into their second-choice degrees or institutions on financial grounds alone,” says Imran Khan, director of the Campaign for Science and Engineering, in a statement.

Willetts says he hopes the continued government funding for teaching science subjects will encourage universities not to charge higher fees for these subjects and so “create a level playing field”.

Nature previously reported universities’ concerns that the fees hike would leave their finances uncertain and lead to the closure of costly science departments.

David Willets told reporters that the government would “not guarantee a university’s right to survive”. Rather universities will have to find new ways to keep afloat – including merging with other universities, if necessary.

The government will publish a more detailed white paper on higher education in the winter.