Lord Browne wants to raise the current cost of tuition fees from £3,290 (what it is now) to £6,000. From what I understand, the cost of tuition fees will rise depending on what university you go to, meaning that the highest ranked universities (Oxford, Cambridge, Durham etc) would be charging an even higher cost of fees. The scary thought is this - even if you don't go to one of the higher ranked universities, you will still be leaving university with a debt of around £30,000!
"Lord Browne says that the proposal is "progressive", but the NUS says it will land graduates with crippling debts" (BBC News 2010). I have to say that I agree 100% with the NUS here! It seems to me that students can never win. We get told that we are being lazy and uneducated if we choose to not go to university and get a degree, and now that more and more teenagers are wanting to complete their education and get a degree in whatever subject they are interested in, the government are doing their best to stop this from happening by raising the funds which they know many people won't be able to afford! I just don't understand the logic behind this at all.
The question that I want to ask is this: If you would still be getting a loan in order to cover the tuition fee rise, would this rise in funding really bother you? Would you worry about having to pay back your debts later in life when you finish university, or would you have more of a "do it now, worry about it later" attitude?
If I had to pay for university myself now, I would not go. I think you end up with too many debts that would take me too long to clear.
ReplyDeleteI would rather go to college then go out and find a job, I think too many people these days have degrees and a degree today is not as important as it was say 10 years ago unless you are studying for something specific like a doctor where you have no choice but to study at uni, but then a doctor would easily pay off any debts in the years ahead as they would be earning a good salary.
When I left uni with my degree, I could not get a job for 6 months due to everyone saying I dont have enough work experience, my advice to anyone at uni now would be to do as much experience as you can whilst at uni in the field that you hope to work in when you graduate. It could be the difference between you or someone else getting that job!
Even if you were able to receive a loan for your time at uni would you still choose not to go? I understand what you are saying about it taking too long for debts to clear, but I still think it's important to finish your education and do your best to get a degree.
ReplyDeleteI do however, agree completely with what you said about degree's being almost invalid today. I think its such a shame because I know people who didn't go to uni, not for any reasons to do with funding, but simply because they didn't fancy it, and they are working at job companies which I would love to work for in the future. It almost seems a bit unfair when I have worked my a*** off for nearly four years at university to get a good degree and then ultimately end up in a well paid job which I enjoy, and these people are able to jump straight on the bandwagon and get a job without working to get there, they got there from knowing people who know people who know people..... and fair enough! It's not their fault, but then whats the point in all of us spending time working hard to get a degree when at the end of the day I dont actually need one!
Maybe this is why the government have decided on increasing university funds? If less people go to university, then less people will be getting degrees, and ultimately making degrees a lot more relevant and valid for those people who do get one.
I would have a long think about going to uni now, I loved every minute of my time at the Solent back when it was the Institute.
ReplyDeleteI think there are too many people using uni time to just mess about and its just another thing to get them out of working.
Any decent degree that is worth something will enable you to get a better job and therefore manage the debts of uni much more easily, so I can see why the Govt would do this. The fact is the recession will effect everyone including students.
If you go and get a degree in 'David Beckham' or 'Star Wars' in my opinion you dont deserve any loan or grant, these people will be of no benefit to our society in years to come. Someone who wants to be a doctor however should get all the help they can get.
I think the funding should be looked at in more detail and given to those that will benefit society and the national economy.