[Ignitionnet]

Originally Posted by Maggy J

At 27 she is finding that having and obtaining a degree wasn't the sinecure that it was held out to be..

Thanks for that. Her and many others it would seem.

---------- Post added at 09:45 ---------- Previous post was at 09:44 ----------

Originally Posted by Damien

Not everyone can afford to pay for University. Not every family can afford to save for University either, with two children and a mortgage I imagine the idea of saving for the cost of both children, or even one, to attend University will be too much for the average family. Especially since they are also removing the cap on tuition fees. At the moment two children on a three year course will require they save around £18,000 for the two of them on tuition fees alone. The governments plan looks to double that.

The USA example is poor because it's well known the difficultly students from poorer backgrounds face in going to University.


However this new system would further discourage people going into teaching, as the salary (£20,000 to £35,000) puts them in the group that will end up paying more than anyone else for their education. Earning enough for the government to charge interest and not enough to realistically pay it back any time soon.

This system screws over all but the rich and a lucky handful of the very poor.

Loans? Investment in your own future? Might be anathema here but is very common elsewhere.

---------- Post added at 09:49 ---------- Previous post was at 09:45 ----------

Originally Posted by Masque

And a massive increase in fees is going to ensure that we get that skillset and it is not going to put people off going to university due to the costs involved.

All we will end up with is an elitist education system in this country and only people with money going to university, the examples of other countries such as the US and Canada is all well and good but this county is not used to these kind of charges, and it will be many years before it is accepted and in that time much of our home grown talent will not have gone to university due to the costs involved.

See above. Regardless of whether we're 'used' to it or not we're competing with countries that are. Either this happens or taxes go up to pay, and there is little appetite or incentive for that given how poorly degrees are translating into work right now.

The comments on 'home grown talent' are a total fallacy. Per my previous comments there is little evidence that we are getting anywhere with the current system. If anything they are increasing concerns over the quality of UK degrees due in no small part to people being pushed towards university without the funding being there or being available. Students themselves complain about the quality of their courses and how little teaching they actually receive..

---------- Post added at 10:00 ---------- Previous post was at 09:49 ----------

Originally Posted by Damien

Those who are not rich should not be discouraged from University.

What would you suggest is done as an alternative?

There is always some financial discouragement for everyone bar the rich, it's about how it's looked at. Higher Education should be seen as a choice and investment in your future, not as something everyone should do just because.

In an idea world there would be no need to charge anyone for such things, however Scotland's experience seems to indicate that removing this incentive results in higher drop out rate.

As big a danger for me is people spending an extra 3 or 4 years that could be spent doing other things going to University to study something that will be of no help or use. It may make them more rounded people, or not as in my case, but that's not a good use of the taxpayers' money to be honest.