The recession and rising costs of living are making the economic strain of sending children to university increasingly hard to bear for many parents.

Figures released yesterday by the Association of Investment Companies (AIC) show that 74 per cent of parents say the recession has increased the strain of university costs.

Annabel Brodie-Smith, communications manager of the AIC, said: ‘In this economic climate it is extremely important that students and parents understand the true levels of debt they will face on graduation.

Clearly the recession is making it harder for today’s parents to help fund their children’s university education and so it is important to plan ahead.’

Increasing the pressure of keeping up with university fees is the recent announcement by the government that while tuition fees will be hiked next year, student grants and loans will be frozen at last year’s rates.

Keeping up with the cost of a university education is weighing so heavily on parents that up to 12 per cent of grandparents now contribute towards the payment of university bills.

According to the AIC, if parents had made a £50-per-month investment with the average investment firm over the past 18 years they would today have a lump sum of £18, 641, which is still short of the debt of £20,000 that a quarter of students now graduate with.  

Additionally almost half (42 per cent) of students feel that not only will their parents take on a great deal of financial strain paying for university but that they themselves will take more than a decade to repay their student debts.

With A Level results due out on August 20, these figures are sure to fuel the debate over the financial merits of university education.