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  • Kathy HKathy H ✭✭✭

    Unfortunately, our esteemed leaders, of both persuasions, have got it wrong!

    Society needs people who are highly educated and qualified, and should meet all or most of the costs involved. The charges made to a student is because it was decided that we could not afford to finance 50% of young people going through university.

    The answer to that is simple, to a non going university person.

    Keep polytechnics for vocational and technical courses. And introduce to a tax payable by all post-graduates.

    Agree?

  • I might stop some of the more esoteric degrees, How many people do we need to teach Anglo-Saxon each year ?



    If you equate highly educated and qualified as paying an extra tax Won't they do that by having a higher salary ? Unless they spent 3 years studying Anglo-Saxon ?
  • £9000 a year might be good value for a medical degree......it costs a hell of a lot more to run the course.......

    but £9000 a year for a part time HND is a local college taught by college teachers doesn't sound great value to me..........

     

    luckily in Wales the government pay over £5000 of it each year.........that with a grant means my children can still attend further education without massive debts......

  • Is it technically a massive debt? Family members of mine that have gone off to uni said the debt is hardly noticed.

    talking paying back pence/ few pounds a week. 

    When they start earning more they do pay back more but the majority said its worth the price tag. 

  • £9000 a tear for course is £27,000

     accommodation for 36 weeks at £120 x3 = 12, 960

    food, books travelling etc for 3 years 

     nothing short of £50000  really for 3 years ....more years means more debts

    of course those with money will have parents paying the fees and accomodation

     

  • But if they get a good degree, and therefore a decent job they will soon pay it off....



    3 of ours are all happily paying it back
  • Ian MIan M ✭✭✭

    I'm not too sure what the OP's point is as there are links to US sites.
    Much though I hate golf, If I owned a golf course, would I be more inclined to take on someone with a degree in the subject rather than a degree in say the History of Art.

    Of course taking the piss out of pointless degrees such as the History of Art is less popular because proper universities run them. Possibly the people in the media who generate headlines denigrating courses such as Golf Management don't have any friends who have participated in such courses, but do have friends who have degrees in the history of music (media studies for posh people) but wouldn't dream of highlighting how useless such a course is because such jolly nice people do it.

  • Ja5onW wrote (see)

    Is it technically a massive debt? Family members of mine that have gone off to uni said the debt is hardly noticed.

    talking paying back pence/ few pounds a week. 

    When they start earning more they do pay back more but the majority said its worth the price tag. 

    Were they paying 9k a year fees though - can't remember when that came in but it could only be 3 years or so ago wasn't it ?   50k is a massive debt - not saying it's not worth it - like Dave says if it leads to a well paid job then it is.    If you become say a primary school teacher or something with a similar salary - reasonable but not huge - then that debt is a real burden.   A decent job does not always equate to the highest pay you can achieve.   

  • seren nos wrote (see)

    £9000 a year might be good value for a medical degree......it costs a hell of a lot more to run the course.......

    but £9000 a year for a part time HND is a local college taught by college teachers doesn't sound great value to me..........

     

    luckily in Wales the government pay over £5000 of it each year.........that with a grant means my children can still attend further education without massive debts......

    By 'the government' of course you mean the good old English taxpayer.

  • It doesn't cost anything like that much to study with the Open University. 

  • But the rate it you it back is proportional to your salary...
  • We need highly educated people in this country but not at any cost. The nation can't afford to pay for everyone but I think it should be possible for us to subsidise those courses that lead to professional qualifications where we have shortages.

  • Anyway it all comes down to the last government's stupid idea of having 50% of students go on to university - thus devaluing degrees.

    High fees provide an alternative method of reducing the demand for places by pricing people out.

    Absolutely bloody potty.

  • ToroToro ✭✭✭

    The fees go via student loans company - therefore not a real debt - PAYE - it's there but nothing to be concerned about.  Drop below threshold, no worries, stop paying.  

    Yes they are expensive though - even Open Uni is too expensive now.  £15,372.

    It used to be far less.  It is still less than 27k I agree.

     

  • Don't knock Anglo Saxon! My degree included Anglo Saxon history, literature and manuscript transcription. No direct relation to my present job - assistant head teacher in a comprehensive school - but does mean I can decipher most handwriting and spelling.  

  • ToroToro ✭✭✭

    Flob - bash the Tories as much as you want but tuition fees were Labour's creation.  As was the dumbing down of educshun to give more a degree so it looks better for them despite it being meaningless.  Now you have a bunch of media studies and sociology grads who have no experience, in their mid twenties and no job.  

  • the other problem is that companies now are not as happy to take on youngsters and pay for their education........

    when I was young if you wanted to be an accountant you could get a job and then they would pay for day release to train you up and pay your fees etc........

    now they just take their pick of graduates and can still pay them lower salaries.......and so less training to give them........

     

  • Supply and demand, when we need trained and skilled people - give degrees away for free. When we have too many degree qualified people expecting miracle terms and conditions - bang the cost up. Standard logic, there are no front line troops anymore for the day to day jobs, hence Plumbers and Electricians earn more than your GP.

    Another point, there was a guy on the TV last week doing his degree in "The history of the Eurovision song contest" I'd hate to think we gave this type of degree away for a measly £9,000

  • The average GP earns over 100k a year - I'd like to know how many plumbers and electricians earn half that.   

  • With what our local plumber charges he may well be on a 100k !
  • I went to Uni back when fees were ~??1000. I finished with a debt of about ??10,000 once the rest of the loan was added. 10 years pist graduation I'm only just starting to pay it off. Yes it's not a debt it real terms and it disappears out my pay before I see it so I don't really notice it's gone. But that's one hundred and something pounds gone each month, so over a grand a year and I'll be paying this for another 10 years.



    Someone leaving Uni with debts of ??27 plus and loan for living costs is going to be paying this off probably for the rest of their working life. Does this seem fair? Well depends if they're earning significantly more than they would be without the degree. Something that's somewhat hard to determine. I wouldn't like to see going to Uni only being open to those with a lot if money,
  • Your average plumber or electrician round here is not making over 50k Nick, some may do, official average earnings are under 30k.  

  • It might not be considered a real debt...........but if you have a job and want to get a house.......at a time when rents and mortgages are astronomical then that £100 or more a month is money that will stop you from getting by

  • and remember your plumber and electrician will have no sick pay scheme and no holiday pay and no pension scheme top up by employer........and if it snows for a week then they get no work.........and they need equipment and vans and insurance

     so the money per hour has to cover all that as well......

  • Do not forget that when the £9K per year idea was mooted, it was said that this was the maximum figure, and only the top universities would charge it image 

    Seems to me there are a lot of top universities out there image

  • East Midlands so I'd have thought typical for the UK - the hi 20s average does sound a bit low but I don't think the ones I know are on quite 50k - no doubt some make that and more in some places.

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