<p><br /> Bright youngsters from disadvantaged backgrounds could have up to two years of their university tuition fees paid for them under new plans, the Government has revealed.<br /> </p><p><br /> Ministers believe that 18,000 students a year could benefit from the scheme, saving up to £18,000 from the cost of their higher education and significantly increasing the numbers of children from poorer families who go to university.<br /> </p><p><br /> Under the scheme, any student eligible for free school meals who is accepted for a place at university would have one year's fees paid by the state, said a Government source.<br /> </p><p><br /> Universities which choose to charge more than £6,000 a year in fees - expected to include elite institutions such as Oxford and Cambridge - will be required to fund a further year's tuition for these students.<br /> </p><p><br /> The state's share of funding for the scheme will be covered by a £150 million National Scholarship Programme announced by Business Secretary Vince Cable when he unveiled the Government's proposals for an increase in the fees cap from £3,375 to £9,000 from 2013.<br /> </p>
