University Funding

[Jubal]

University funds from government in the UK are about to be cut to levels similar to those in Chile, losing 4.2 billion pounds of teaching and research funding. This means that fees will go up so much that graduates may leave Uni with debts of

[comrade_general]

Everyone has parents.

[Jubal]

Not everyone's parents can afford

[comrade_general]

Why no scholarships? I had a couple that helped me out, plus my parents, the rest was in loans which I've already paid off. Not bad, really.

[Son of the King]

I'm currently at Leeds Uni, with fees of

[Jubal]

It is pretty appallling, IMO.

And Comrade, the scholarships system never has really existed in the UK, don't ask me why. There are a tiny, tiny number of scholarships around, but very few and practically none outside some of the older Universities.

[DeepComet5581]

Of course it's fair.

Think about it: There are now too many students looking to go to University, and some have to wait until next year. Those that do get in will come out in 3 years and find that they have to work behind the counter at Sainsbury's, because there isn't anything else.

This means that many College students go unemployed for long periods of time. I know a man called Stuart who has been out of work for 2 years and has applied for over 2000 jobs, mostly at supermarkets and chain stores. A College education should not mean that people should struggle to find a job.

40 years ago, a College education would give somone almost instant access to lower management in a company, and a University degree would set you up for life - you could have any job you wanted. Now, however, many Universities are just faceless institutions diluting a prestigious and once rare qualification with crap like "Sociology" degrees that someone who can't even speak English could get 1st Class Honours on.

It works exactly like inflation. If there ar more and more people getting University degrees, then they become worth less and less as time goes on. Eventually, people are GOING TO HAVE TO start taking Master's Degrees and PHDs to be able to get a job, and the same thing will happen.

I am all for cutting this budget, not just because of the reasons above, but because it will help with our Government's deficit hugely.

Just for clarification, I am NOT going to University.

Oh, and my brother got a Scholarship

[Jubal]

Ah, but actually you're advocating exactly the oppositie of the government's solution.

The government's idea is to keep Uni places in millions of subjects for as many people as possible, just put the costs up for the individual student and create a fees market. Whereas the approach I would favour would be to cut places for low quality degrees, as you suggest; essentially the government wants lots of degrees of little worth, sorted essentially by money on where you can go. Surely it would be better to have less places available to people of all income brackets and genuinely sorted on academic/intellectual merit.

[comrade_general]

40 years ago, a College education would give somone almost instant access to lower management in a company, and a University degree would set you up for life - you could have any job you wanted. Now, however, many Universities are just faceless institutions diluting a prestigious and once rare qualification with crap like "Sociology" degrees that someone who can't even speak English could get 1st Class Honours on.

You got that right. Bleeping society.

[Jubal]

Exactly. The trouble is that "Fair for all" (a good idea) has gone down to just "For all" which is just unsustainable and does nobody much good in the long run. Does the degree-trained advertiser who designs the ads at the top of this page really do a better job than someone without a degree would? Like thousands of pounds of quality education better? I doubt it.

[comrade_general]

Does the degree-trained advertiser who designs the ads at the top of this page really do a better job than someone without a degree would?

Hell no, the people best at what they do learned to do it themselves.

[Goldyrulz]

Basically, the rich kids will go and the rest will suffer. It seems to be as simple as that. I mean, right now I don't know whether I will go or not, and the crippling debts at the end of it (compared to what it would have been) is just another eeason for me not to go at all, but overall it just depends on what I want to do really.

My parents have also said they would see if they could help, but thats looks inlikely so basically I either go and end up in loads of debt having to pay for everything myself or not go, get a job (if thats even possible....) and have no debt and save up for a place of me own

Tough choices did already lay ahead, now it has been made A LOT HARDER.....

[Jubal]

I'm going w/e, but if I become an academic or even prolly a civil servant/politician it'll be years before I can repay the debt.

[Marcus]

So, the students have made their voices heard, with gusto:


That should really be the cover of a Clash album

I don't think violence was the right way, for those who chose it, but on the other hand, I don't think there would have been nearly as much coverage if they hadn't kicked the Tory's windows in.

[comrade_general]

Just admit it, that was you wasn't it.