A North East university chancellor has called for an education system "rethink" to increase accessibility. 

The recently appointed chancellor of Durham University, Dr Fiona Hill, has questioned university fees, saying that the current cost of higher education would have made her reconsider obtaining a degree. 

The former US presidential advisor told the BBC podcast Newscast that she "would have rethought education if I'd had to have taken out massive loans."

Read more: Fiona Hill is named new Chancellor of Durham University

"There are certain professions that we should be emphasising, we've got huge demand, and we want to rethink how we structure the fees and the loans and assisting people with getting paid back."

The daughter of a coal miner and a midwife, Dr Hill has credited her education as the key to unlocking her career. 

"I would not have had any of the opportunities that I've had, including to study Russia, if it hadn't been for the accessibility of education."

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Her degree in History and Russian was paid for by her local education authority in County Durham. 

After graduating from St Andrew's University, Dr Hill went on to have an illustrious career, culminating in advising presidents George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and Donald Trump. 

When approached for comment, a spokesperson for the Department of Education said that there were far more 18-year-olds from disadvantaged backgrounds going to university than ever before.