EDUCATION Secretary Ruth Kelly has praised universities including Bolton for offering a bursary package to undergraduates next year in a bid to reduce tuition fees.

The Bolton West MP said universities were ensuring people who cannot afford the fees will still be able to benefit from higher education.

The University of Bolton has had its tuition fee and bursary package approved by the Office for Fair Access. It will charge £3,000-a-year from September 2006.

But a raft of packages have been put in place to lessen the financial blow, university bosses announced.

And Ms Kelly said: "I welcome the very positive commitment that universities and colleges have demonstrated to ensure all those who have the ability to benefit from higher education are given the opportunity to do so - regardless of their background."

Nine out of 10 universities in England are to charge the maximum tuition fee of £3,000 when they are allowed to raise their fees next year.

Undergraduates from low-income families joining the University of Bolton could collect more than £3,500 a year in non-repayable support packages from the university and the Government.

All undergraduates joining the university from feeder-partner schools, colleges and training centres - of which Bolton Community College is the first - will be eligible for a £700-a-year Bolton Scholarship, regardless of family income or age.

Students from the lowest income families will be eligible for a grant package worth up to the full fee rate of £3,000. Higher Education Grants of £2,700 will be available from the Government to students with a family income of around £15,000 or less.

If the student's family income is between £15,000 and £33,000, grants are available on a sliding scale. A Bolton bursary up to £300 a year is also available.

University of Bolton Pro Vice Chancellor, Dr Peter Marsh, said: "The university has thought long and hard about its tuition fee level."

OFFA director Sir Martin Harris said universities had gone further than he had expected. He said: "They have been both creative and generous in what they plan to offer students who are less well off."