The Agriculture (Student Fees) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2026

Explanatory note

Reproduced verbatim from the instrument as published on legislation.gov.uk (Crown Copyright, Open Government Licence v3.0). The note is prepared by the responsible government department and is not part of the instrument itself.

Section 5 of the Agriculture Act (Northern Ireland) 1949 (“ the Act ”) enables the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (“ the Department ”) to provide instruction in agriculture and related matters. Section 5A, empowers the Department to set fees for education and instruction.

These Regulations amend The Agriculture (Student Fees) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2023 ( S.R. 2023 No. 98 ) (“ the 2023 Regulations ”).

Part 1 (General) regulation 1 refers to the citation and commencement of these amendment regulations.

Part 2 (Amendment to Student Fee Frameworks) regulation 3 amends the meaning of the “2022 legacy fee framework” at regulation 9 of the 2023 Regulations to provide an additional final year for students who commenced their current higher education course prior to 1st September 2022 and who have suspended their studies with the opportunity to complete their current course for the final time under the 2022 legacy fee framework in the 2026/27 academic year.

Part 3 (Amendments to Student Categories) regulation 4 amends sub-paragraph (c) in regulation 10 of the 2023 Regulations that provides a more accurate meaning of “home student” to ensure it properly references Schedule 2 to the 2023 Regulations. It further provides a more accurate classification of international students for fee purposes by amending regulation 12 of the 2023 Regulations with new wording.

Part 4 (Amendment to Student Fee Amounts) regulation 5 replaces the student fee amounts table in Schedule 1 to the 2023 Regulations with the student fee amounts that come into effect from the 2026/27 academic year (commencing from 1st September 2026). The revised student fee amounts table incorporates a 2.7% inflationary uplift and corrects errors in the student fee amounts of £1,340 at FC3, £3,085 at FC15 and FC25, £6,165 at FC16 and FC26, and £9,250 at FC17 and FC27 that were inserted by The Agriculture (Student Fees) (Amendment) Regulations 2025 (“ the 2025 Regulations ”).

Regulation 6 revokes regulation 4 of the 2025 Regulations that substituted the new student fee amounts table in Schedule 1 to the 2023 Regulations prescribing the student fee amounts for the 2025/26 academic year at the College of Agriculture, Food and Rural Enterprise (CAFRE).