Yes, because leaving families and students with this much debt after graduation has worked out so well in the US. Only the ultra-rich like the former BP CEO who is promoting this could find such a plan a good idea. The Guardian:
A free market in tuition fees in which universities will be free to charge more than £10,000 a year for courses is expected to be recommended by the government's official adviser on higher education next week.
Unveiling the most important report on higher education in decades, Lord Browne will say that universities should be allowed to keep all the income from tuition fees up to an annual level of £10,000. The current cap is £3,290. The Observer has learned that he will also recommend they be allowed to cross that threshold if they pay a rising proportion of the additional income into a central fund. The money could be used to support students from poorer families.
If they are accepted, the radical proposals by Browne, the former chief executive of BP, would amount to the most far-reaching shake-up of higher education in decades and could result in middle-class students leaving university with debts in excess of £80,000. It will be up to ministers how they respond to the plans.
