Ed Miliband says Labour would reduce the cap on student tuition fees.
He told the Sunday Mirror that a Labour government would limit university fees to £6,000 a year - down from the current £9,000 maximum.
It would be partly funded by graduates earning over £65,000 a year paying higher interest on student loans and by axing the government's planned cut in corporation tax for financial services.
Ministers have said the current system is "fairer and affordable".
The announcement comes on the eve of the Labour conference in Liverpool, with Mr Miliband set to speak on Tuesday.
'Burdened by debt'
The move is part of Mr Miliband's bid to present his party as being on the side of hard-pressed families struggling to maintain their standard of living amidst the global economic downturn.
He told the Sunday Mirror: "Parents up and down the country are incredibly worried about their sons and daughters.
"We want to take action to make it easier for people to go to university and not feel burdened down by debt. If we were in government now, we would cut the maximum tuition fee from £9,000 to £6,000 a year."
The BBC's political correspondent Vicky Young said the announcement of this proposal had come as a "bit of a surprise".
She said policy reviews were being carried out across all areas for Labour so policy announcements were not expected until further into the next parliament.
Our correspondent added that it was important for Labour that these sums added up as polls suggest people trust the Conservatives and the coalition government far more with the economy.
She added: "It was incredibly difficult for the Liberal Democrats - they had a promise not to introduce tuition fees which they went back on.
"Many people feel they have lost the student vote which gave them a number of seats at the general election so clearly that is what Ed Miliband is trying to do there.
By saying how he'd pay for it, partly by not bringing in this cut in corporation tax for financial services, he can say he's making the wealthy pay more."
Tuition fees were introduced by the last Labour government.
The current £9,000 maximum was introduced by the coalition government.
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