I'm a bit pissed off. Why? Because I've found out this week that the government is attempting to raise the minimum cap of student fees from £3,000 to £5,000. Over 50% of uni chiefs around the country are in favour. Oh no but that's not all, some want there to be minimum of £20,000 per year. Yep you read that correctly. £20,000. Per. Year
Now considering the current global financial situation, is this really the best solution? According to the BBC today, 2009 is set to be the worst year economically, with the first 'shrink' in the global market for 60 years. So clearly the best option is to take money from people who are more likely to be debt (then again surely everyone is these days).
Now, I'm in a reasonable the way things currently stand. Yes, I'll be in debt when I finish my degree but at the moment, I think I've done a decent job at managing my money. But if my student fees were to increase to near £5,000 then I might struggle.
I've read studies that many people in lower class families are struggling to get into universities due to the current costs. So clearly by increasing the costs, the middle class bias and the gap will widen. Shouldn't it be determined by how clever you are rather than how much the family earns.
Former Education Secretary, Charles Clarke, who attempted to raise uni fees in 2004 admits that the recession will clearly have an impact on any decision making regarding an increase. If he sees it why can't Gordon. Oh I know why, we have to find the billions that the bankers lost somehow. I'm sure that the government would argue something along the lines of "better resources, teaching etc" but I doubt it can actually get that much better.
I doubt it will go through but if it does, I wont be happy, and I'm sure the 1 million other undergraduates won't exactly be thrilled either.
I heard about this quite some time ago myself, and I've got to agree that it's pretty ridiculous. A few years back I almost joined the Socialist party (no, really) partially because one of their main policies is that university should be free. And I agree with them, I think there shouldn't be any university fees. A lot of people from the lower/working classes have a lot of talent but can't afford to go to university even with student loans and such, and it's just not fair at all.
ReplyDelete