NEW caps on the number of students from England allowed to attend university in Northern Ireland are "unacceptable".
Minister with responsibility for higher education Diane Dodds said the decision had caused shock.
The Department for Education (DfE) plans to limit the number of undergraduates that universities in England can teach in 2020/21.
It is also extending the cap to include English students applying to higher education institutions elsewhere in Britain and Northern Ireland.
This policy will restrict the number of students from England that can be admitted to Queen's University Belfast and Ulster University.
Those coming from England to the north pay higher fees than `home' students - £9,250 compared to £4,275 a year.
The move has provoked anger and opposition as higher education policy is devolved to individual governments.
Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales had sought a UK-wide approach to stop damaging competition for students between universities eager to fill empty places left as a result of the coronavirus outbreak.
Mrs Dodds said she was wholly opposed to DfE England's intention to impose a student number control.
"I am shocked and concerned that another jurisdiction is seeking to control student numbers here in Northern Ireland and the impact that this may have on our local sector," she said.
"This intention runs contrary to what had been agreed amongst the four UK administrations at the beginning of May in regards to a number of measures relating to admissions for 2020/21 under the UK Admissions Package.
"I believe that this proposal has the potential to break up the unified higher education market within the United Kingdom in terms of access to study based on student choice and academic achievement – it is a dangerous precedent to set and one I am wholly opposed to."
Last week, Mrs Dodds took part in a conference call hosted by Minister of State for Universities Michelle Donelan.
It had focussed on how best to mitigate the reduction of international student numbers at UK universities during the pandemic.
Mrs Dodds has now written to Ms Donelan to convey her views.
"Local institutions will have already started to determine their recruitment of English-domiciled students without any indication that the new DfE England restrictions would be imposed on them," Mrs Dodds added.
"For DfE England to bring this proposal to the fore at this stage in the recruitment and admissions cycle is not only unfair but unprecedented."
